600 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



from the latter, while they are frequently seen around the 

 bleeding stumps of maple and birch trees which had been cut 

 down the previous winter. 



728. Sitta canadensis Linn. Red-breasted Nuthatch; Red- 

 bellied Nuthatch; Canada Nuthatch. 



Plumage of adult male : white line over eye ; black line from eye to nape 

 and top of head black ; upper parts bluish gray ; wings clove brown ; middle 

 tail feathers bluish gray, the outer ones black with white patches subter- 

 minally ; throat white ; under parts otherwise rufous to ochraceous buff. 

 Plumage of adult female : very similar to male but with top of head and 

 line through eye more bluish gray, owing to the black being veiled by this 

 color. Immature plumage : very similar ; above the feathers slightly edged 

 with black and in general color not such a pure deep bluish gray above. 

 Wing 2.70; tail 1.60; culmen 0.55. 



Geog. Dist. — North America ; breeding in the mountains from Virginia 

 northward, and from northern Maine and Manitoba, northern New York and 

 northern Michigan northward ; wintering from the northern United States 

 south to the Gulf of Mexico. 



County Records. — Androscoggin; rare summer resident, (Johnson). 

 Aroostook; common summer resident, (Knight). Cumberland; common 

 winter migrant, (Mead). Franklin ; common, resident, (Richards). Han- 

 cock; common resident, both inland and on the wooded islands, (Knight). 

 Kennebec; quite common summer resident, (Gardiner Branch). Knox; 

 resident, (Rackliff). Oxford; common resident, breeds, (Nash). Penobscot; 

 resident, breeds commonly, (Knight). Piscataquis; common summer resi- 

 dent, (Homer). Sagadahoc; common winter resident, a pair remained one 

 summer, (Spinney). Somerset; common, not common summer resident, 

 (Morrell) ; common summer resident, (Knight). Waldo; common summer 

 resident, (Knight). Washington; abundant, breeds, (Boardman). York; 

 quite common resident, (Adams). 



In general this is a species of the Canadian fauna, found in 

 the deeper woods of Maine as a common resident species, 

 though less frequent in winter than at other seasons, owing 

 both to a partial migratory movement and to the roving habits 

 adopted by the scattered bands remaining. In southern Maine, 

 outside of the breeding range, it is more frequently seen in 

 fall, remaining through winter and early spring in smaller 

 numbers. In fall and winter they sometimes come into the 

 orchards and trees of the cities and towns, but even at these 



