48 WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH 



White-breasted Nuthatch: S'ltta caroliiiciisis. 



Length 6 inches. 



Upper parts bluish -gray; top of head glossy black. 



Under parts and sides of head white. 



Tail shows white and black. 



Resident all the year, more common in winter. 



The nasal yank, yank of the Nuthatch is a common 

 sound in our woods when the nesting- season is over 

 and birds begin to gather in flocks. This call of the 

 Nuthatch is so peculiar that it is soon learned, and 

 his characteristic habit of creeping down tree trunks 

 head-first identifies him to the eye. Besides insects, 

 he eats nuts, acorns and corn, which he hammers into 

 the crevices of rough bark or into cracks in fence 

 rails, and then splits open with his sharp, strong bill. 

 Like his comrades, the Titmouse and Chickadee, he 

 nests in holes, often in one that a Downy Wood- 

 pecker has deserted, lining it with grasses, hair and 

 feathers. Five speckled eggs are laid. 



