176 



USEFUL BIRDS. 



Red-breasted Nuthatch. Canada Nuthatch. 

 Sitta canadensis. 

 Length. — Foixr and one-half to nearly five inches. 

 ^4 f?«/< J/f(/e. — Above, deep, bright bluish-gray; chin and throat -niiitish ; other 



lower iiarts rusty or deep buff ; tail feathers marked with black and white ; 



a white stripe above the eye, a broad black stripe through the eye, and a 



black crown. 

 Adult Female. — Similar, but duller ; the eye stripe dusky, and the crown lighter 



than that of the male. 

 Nest and Eggs. — Much like those of the Chickadee. 

 Season. — Resident, but local in the breeding season. 



This dainty little bird is considered rare in Massachusetts 

 in the breeding season. While a few nest in suitable local- 

 ities, the great majority retire to the northern wilderness 



in summer. From Octo- 

 ber to April, however, it is 

 quite common in this State 

 during some seasons. It per- 

 forms for the pines a similar 

 service to that rendered by its 

 larger relative among the decid- 

 uous trees. It is almost constantly 

 und in pine woods, and seems par- 

 ticularly fond of the pitch pine [Pinus 

 rigida). 



The common notes of the bird are 

 not unlike those of the White-breasted Nuthatch, but higher, 

 sharper, and quicker. It has also a musical varied twitter, 

 not mentioned in books, so far as I know, which can be heard 

 but a few feet away. 



It runs about much in the manner of the White-breasted 

 Nuthatch, but is perhaps oftener seen beneath a limb. It 

 sometimes feeds nearer the ends of the branches in winter, 

 perhaps because it more commonly extracts the seeds from 

 pine cones. It picks up corn wherever it can be found in 

 winter, and I have watched it hiding the kernels behind 

 scales of Imrk on the pitch pine, — a habit common to both 

 Nuthatches and Titmice. A large majority of these birds 

 ffo farther south than Massachusetts in winter, but many re- 

 main wherever they can find i)ine seed, suitable insect food, 



Fig. 57.— Red-breasted 

 Nuthatch, one-half natural 

 size. 



