Titmice and Nuthatches 



287 



Harriet S. Rider 



FIG. 173. White-breasted nuthatch 

 enjoying a winter meal. 



Nuthatches nest in holes 

 in trees or stumps. They 

 lay rather more eggs than do 

 the larger song birds. Some 

 nest in hollow limbs provided 

 for them in open woods, 

 orchards, or quiet gardens. 

 These nesting places should 

 be located 15 feet or more 

 above the ground. 



Nuthatches eat grubs and other insect larvae that in- 

 jure trees. On one occasion the writer saw a nuthatch 

 carry an acorn. After inserting it behind a loose piece 

 of bark, it picked the acorn open and apparently ate 

 it. As soon as the bird had flown away, the acorn was 

 examined. Some of it had been eaten, but not recently ; 

 something besides the bird had been feeding on the 

 acorn. Can you explain this ? 



The white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatches are the 

 two species most common in the northern and eastern 

 parts of the United States. The white-breasted nut- 

 hatch is 6 inches in length ; the red-breasted is somewhat 

 smaller. The latter is a rather rare bird. Its breast is 

 not red, but merely reddish brown in the male and pale 

 brown in the female. It nests in Canada and the north- 

 ernmost part of the United States. 



How do you suppose nuthatches got their name ? At 

 what time of the year do you see them ? Are their tails 

 stiff like the tails of woodpeckers ? 



