PARIDAE: SITTINAE 

 727. Sitta carolinensis 



WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 6 inches 

 Male. Above blue-gray ; top of head black ; the sides white ; 

 long black bill ; wing bars and tail spots white ; tail very short and 

 square. Below white. Female. Similar, but has little black on head. 

 A bird of the tree trunks and branches, 

 usually seen head downwards poking in the 

 crevices of the bark for its insect food, is 

 also fond of nuts and table bits that thought- 

 ful persons furnish it. Common in Mas- 

 sachusetts in autumn and winter. 

 Song. A prolonged ha-ha-ha-ha, also a 

 nasal note likejytf /, yank, yank. 

 Nest. In a hole in a tree. 

 Breeds. Throughout New England. 





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