The Brown-headed Nuthatch 



329 



Thinking it best to let the birds become accustomed to me before I attempted 

 to photograph them, I was content for several days to observe them from a 

 little distance. The female was a very steady little housewife and brooded 

 quite faithfully, and her mate was devoted to her, frequently feeding her on 

 the nest. He would appear in a nearby pine tree, twittering and calling until 



"A SMALL BIRD DARTED OUT" 



she came to the entrance of their home, when he would fly to her with the 

 morsel of food he carried, or, at times, as if my presence disconcerted him, he 

 would hide his offering behind a loose piece of bark and the little female would 

 fly to the place, and when she had eaten the tidbit, they would both fly away 

 among the pines. Occasionally the male would hide the food while his mate 

 was not watching him, and then she would have to search for it, and if, after 

 a time, she was not successful she would abandon the hunt and fly away for a 



