jSS the slender-billed .\L'I% atcii. 



outer \ving-(|uills fuscous, tlie second ami tlirce or four succeeding primaries 

 narrowly touclied witli white on outer weh in retreating order; inner tjuills anil 

 coverts with nuicli hlack centering: tail featiier>, except u|)i)er i)air. black, the 

 outer pairs s(|uarely hlotched with white in suhterniinal to terminal order; sides of 

 head, and neck well u]), and undcrparts while with a faint bluish tinge: distinctly 

 marked, or washed more or less, on flanks and crissmu with rusty brown: bill 

 stout, subulate, the under mandible slightly recurved, — blackish plumbeous alwive. 

 lighter at base of lower mandible: feet dark brown: iris brown. .IJiill fciiiiilc: 

 similar to male, but black of head and back more or less veiled by color of b;ick. 

 Length 5.50-6.10 ( i.vj.7-154.91 ; wing 3.43 (87) : tail 1.81 (46) : bill .77 ( 19.5 i : 

 tarsus .7J ( 18.2). 



RecoKnition Marks. — Warbler to Sparrow size; tree-cree])ing habits; liiack 

 and ashy blue above: white below. 



Nesting. — Scst: a ileserted Woodpecker hole, or newly-made cavity in 

 stump or tree, usually at a considerable distance from the grouinl, and lineil with 

 leaves, feathers, or hair. Iuj</s: 5-8, sometimes y or even 10, white, thickly 

 speckled and spotted with reddish brown and lavender. .\v. si/e, .76 x .56 

 ( 19.3 X 14.J I. St'iisioi: .\i>ril. May ; one brood. 



General Range. — I'acitic Coast states and liritish Columbia (to .\shcroft), 

 in the iioriiurn portion of its range cast of the Cascades. Non-nugratory. 



Range in Washington. — Resident, of regular occurrence in ))ine timber east 

 of Cascades; rare and local in I'uget Sound region. 



Authorities. — ? 'rownsend, Journ. .\c. Nat. Sci. riiiki. \lll. 1839. 155 

 ( Cohunbia River). Sitta aciilcata. Cassin, Cooper and Suckley, Rep. I'ac. R. R. 

 Surv. Xll. pt. II. i8(«, p. 193. (T. ) C^S. Rh. D'. Ra, j. l:. 



Specimens. — ( L'. of W.) I'rov. C. 



irii(>-i~n' 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 goes the Macfarlaiie Screech Owl in bru.id 

 daylight. There is an instant hush on the pine-clad hillside — a hush fulloweil 

 by an excited murmur of iiKpiiry among the scattered luenibers of a winter 

 bird-troop. If yon happen to be the Screech Owl, seated motionless at the 

 base of some large tree and half ob.scured in its shadows, |)erliaps the first in- 

 timation you will have that the search party is on your trail will be the click, 

 click, click, of tiny claws on the tree-bole above your head, followed by a 

 (juank of interrogation, ahiiost comical for its mixture of ballled anxiety and 

 dawning su.spicion of the truth. He is an impiisitive fellow, this Nuthatch, 

 for, vou sec, prying is his business; but he is brave as well. The chances are 

 that he will venture down within a foot or two of your face before he Ihuters 

 off with a loud outcr>- of alarm. When excited, as when regarding a sus])i- 

 cious object, he has an odd fashion of rapidly right-and-left facing on a hori 

 zontal Ivnigh, as tho to try both eyes on you and lose no lime between. 



Xulhatch is the acknowledged acrobat of the woods — not that he acts for 

 displav; it is all Inisincss with him. A tree is a complete gymnasium in itself 

 and the bird is master of it all. In all |M>sitions, any side up, this bird is there, 

 fearless, confident : in fact, he rather prefers traveling head downward, cspec- 



