322 



BIRDS OF NORTH CAROLINA 



Cairns says this species nests early in April in Buncombe County, while in 

 Bertie County, near the eastern end of the State, R. P. Smithwick took three nests 

 on April 2, 10, and 29, which were at heights respectively of six, twenty, and thirty 

 feet. Pearson has found nests in Guilford County ranging from twenty inches to 

 forty feet from the ground. 



FIG. 263. WHITE-BEEASTED NUTHATCH. 



The bill is strong, and the bird will hammer the bark of a tree with great per- 

 sistence in order to acquire possession of some coveted insect. All the members of 

 this family are among our best friends, as they destroy vast quantities of insects, 

 their eggs and larvae, which are harmful to our forests. This nuthatch also eats 

 seeds, being especially fond of those of the sunflower. 



327. Sitta canadensis (Linn.}. RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 



Description: Ad. male. Top of head and a wide stripe through eye to nape shining black; 

 a white line over eye; upperparts bluish gray, no black marks on secondaries, or tips to wing- 

 coverts; outer tail-feathers black, with white patches near their tips; middle ones bluish gray; 

 throat white; rest of underparts ochraceous-buff. Ad. female. Similar, but top of head and 

 stripe through the eye bluish gray, like the back; underparts paler. L., 4.62; W., 2.66; T., 1.58; 

 B v .50. (Chap., Birds of E. N'. A.) 



Range. North America, breeding mainly north of the United States. 



Range in North Carolina. Whole State irregularly in winter; resident on some of the higher 

 mountains where it breeds. 



FIG. 264. RED-BKEASTED NUTHATCH. 



The Red-breasted Nuthatch is an irregular winter visitor in North Carolina at 

 least as far east as Raleigh, where it is common some years and rare or altogether 

 absent in others. It usually goes in small bands, perhaps composed of the brood 

 of the previous year. In feeding it shows a preference for the smaller branches, 

 rather than the trunks of trees. Near Raleigh it has been observed from September 



