272 Birds of Buzzard's Roost 



The bill of this bird is black, long and sharp pointed like 

 that of the woodpecker family and well adapted to the work of 

 taking from the rough bark crevices of the trees the insects 

 and their larvae upon which they feed, and to making excava- 

 tions for their nests ; iris of the eye brown ; general color above 

 of an ashy blue, with top of head and neck black ; wings edged 

 with black which fades to brown ; tail nearly even at the end 

 the two middle feathers slate color, the others black, tipped 

 with slate, and crossed diagonally with a streak of white : 

 sides of the head and most of the underparts of the body are 

 white, and this gives to the bird its distinguishing name ; legs 

 and feet dull blue. The female differs from the male in hav- 

 ing the head rather darker, and the line through the eye less 

 conspicuous. Unlike the woodpeckers, they have but one hind- 

 er toe instead of two, and the tail feathers are without termi- 

 nal spines, and are not used for support when working in the 

 boles of trees. 



The white-breasted nuthatch is a resident throughout its 

 range, which extends throughout Eastern North America 

 northward from Georgia and Texas to New Brunswick, On- 

 tario and Minnesota and west to Kansas. It breeds through- 

 out its range. The breeding season begins about the middle 

 of April, and frequently two broods are reared in a season. 

 The nest may be found in the natural cavity of a tree, an ex- 

 cavation made by it in a decayed stump or tree or in the aban- 

 doned hole of a woodpecker, from the ground up to a height 

 of sixty feet, and is made of feathers, leaves and hair. The 

 eggs, numbering from five to ten, are dull white, evenly spot- 

 ted with brown and lavender at the larger end. 



The nuthatch is a bold, active and familiar bird, and is gen- 

 erally found in the depths of the woods. Sometimes they make 

 their homes in our orchards. At Somerleaze a pair of them 

 are frequent visitors to the trees upon our lawn, and especially 

 the large wild cherry that stands in front of the veranda. I 

 always know when they are making us a visit by their content- 

 ed call, which to me sounds like a grunt and is interpreted 

 by the words "uh-uh-uh" or "cuh-cuh-cuh." As Mr. Baskett 

 says, his "arrival is sudden and seems often distinguished by 

 turning a somersault before alighting, head downward, on 



