WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 



47 



r WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 



Two of these odd characters are more or less common in Canada — 

 the present species and its red-breasted congener. Something Hke 

 a sparrow in form — a sparrow with a square cut tail and lanceolate 

 bill — the nuthatch unites some of the habits of a wood-pecker 

 with tricks he must have learned from the chickadees. 



The nuthatches do not bore into a tree, but hunt for insects and 

 larvae in the crannies of the bark — chipping off a piece when needed — 

 and when on these hunting excursions are indifferent whether their 

 heads or their tails are uppermost. Tliey are not quite so playful 

 nor so merry as the chickadees, but they are equally active and 

 agile, and when hungry — and who ever saw a wild bird when he 

 was not hungry — they are ready for any gymnastic feat that a search 

 for a dinner may demand. The little fellow pictured here has been 



