Chap. d. 



BIRDS OF VERMONT. 



95 



THE WHITE-BREASTED AND RED-BELLIED NUTHATCHES. 



THE BROWN CREEPER. 



tongue short, wide at the qase, notched and hard 

 at the tip ; feet robust, hind toe stout and long ; 

 wings short; tail rather short consisting of 12 

 feathers. Sexes similar in color. 



WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 



Sitta carolinensis . — Brisson. 



Description. — General color dark lead 

 above, grayisJx white beneath; head and 

 neck black above, white on the sides and 

 beneath ; central part of the wing feathers 

 and wing coverts black, edged with lead 

 color or white ; ferruginous tinge about 

 the vent ; bill bluish black, lighter be- 

 neath towards the base, long and straight ; 

 upper maHdible longest; feet and legs 

 dusky ; hind toe stout and long with a 

 large nail; claws all hooked and sharp; 

 2d 3d and 4th primaries longest and 

 nearly equal. LengthS^ inches ; spread 

 11. 



History. — The White breasted Nut- 

 hatch is a permanent resident throughout 

 nearly the whole of North America, and 

 is very common in this state. During 

 the fall and winter they come into our 

 orchards and yards, where their rough 

 quani;, two or three times repeated, may 

 be often heard as they run around like 

 the Woodpecker upon the trunks of the 

 trees. Early in the spring they retire to 

 the forests, where they rear their young 

 in the hollow of a tree or large limbs. 

 The eggs, usually 5, are of a dull white 

 color, spotted with brown at the large 

 end. 



THE RED-BELLIED NUTHATCH. 

 Sitta canadensis. — Linn^sus. 



Description. — Lead color above, red- 

 dish, or rust-color on the belly ; head and 

 neck above and line througli the eye, 

 black ; a white stripe above and below 

 the eye and on the margin of each wing; 

 lateral tail feathers black and white, cen- 

 tral ones lead color ; feet and legs dusky ; 

 hind toe stout and long ; bill black, large, 

 long and straight; 3d primary longest, 

 2nd and 4th nearly as long. liCngth 4J 

 inches, spread of the wings 8 inches. 



History. — This species resembles the 

 preceding in general appearance and hab- 

 its, but is said to have a predilection to 

 pine forests, feeding much upon the oily 

 seeds of evergreens. The flight of the 

 Nuthatches is short, seldom extending 

 farther than from one tree to another; 

 and yet they have great powers of flight, 

 since Audubon saw one come on board 

 his vessel 300 miles from the shore. The 

 specimens from which both preceding de- 

 scriptions were made were obtained in 

 Burlinffton. 



Genus Certhia. — Linnaus. 



Generic Characters. — Bill long, or middling, 

 more or less arched, entire three-sided, compress- 

 ed, sltnder and acute ; nostrils basal, naked, 

 pierced in grooves, and half closed by a small 

 membrane ; tongue acute ; feet slender ; inner toe 

 free, somewhat shorter than the outer; hind toe 

 longer and more robust ; nails much curved, that 

 of the hind toe largest ; wings rather short, spuri- 

 ous feathers small ; tail of 12 feathers, elastic, 

 ridged, and acuminate. The sexes and young 

 nearly alike. 



THE BROWN CREEPER. 



Certhia familiar is. — LinnjEUS. 



Description — Color varied witii dusky 

 brown, ferruginous, and white above, 

 white beneatli ; rump bright rust color; 

 tail rusty brown, as long as the body, with 

 the extremity of each feather attenuated 

 to a sharp rigid point, as in woodpeckers; 

 under tail coverts tinged with rusty ; 3d 

 and 4th primaries longest, and all the pri- 

 maries, excepting the two first, with a 

 yellowish white spot near the middle ; 

 legs and feet brownish. Length 5;^ inch- 

 es ; spread 7 inches. 



History. — This industrious little bird 

 is seldom seen in the summer, on account 

 of its passing that season in the depth of 

 the forests, but on the approacli of winter 

 he may be seen upon the trees in more 

 open places, diligently seeking for its 

 food. It very much resembles the small- 

 er Woodpeckers and Nuthatches in its 

 habits, hopping about upon the trunk of 

 the tree, searching every nook and crev- 

 ice in the bark for spiders, insects, egga 

 and larvae. Tlie Brown Creeper breeds 

 in this state, and for this purpose it takes 

 possession of the deserted hole of a squir- 

 rel or woodpecker. The nest, according 

 to Audubon, is loosely formed of grasses 

 and lichens, and lined with feathers. The 

 eggs, from 6 to 8, are yellowish white, 

 irregularly marked with red and purp- 

 lish spots. Nuttall found one of their 

 nests in Roxbury, Ms., upon the ground 

 by the side of a rock, containing 4 young. 



Genus TRocHii.vs.—Linnatts. 



Generic Characters. — Bill long, straight, or 

 curved, tubular, very slender, with the base de- 

 pressed and acuminated ; upper mandible nearly 

 enveloping the under one ; tongue long, extensi- 

 ble, bifid and tubular; nostrils basal, linear, and 

 covered by a membrane ; legs very short ; tarsus 

 shorler than the middle toe ; fore toes almost 

 wholly divided ; wings long and acute ; first quiU 

 longest. 



