140 



THE OOLOGIST 



so large, so easily trapped, so valuable 

 for food, and withal one whose pur- 

 suit affords such excellent sport as the 

 Valley Quail, will rarely became num- 

 erous enough to do serious damage, 

 and then only locally and under unus- 

 ual conditions. 



W. A. Strong. 

 San Jose, Cal. 



Red Breasted Nuthatch. 



Passing through Massachusetts in 

 their spring migration in large num- 

 bers very few of these small Nut- 

 hatches stop here to breed. 



In his book, "Birds of New England, 

 (1857)", Mr. E. A. Samuels stated that 

 he knew but one nest being found in 

 this state up to that time. Others, 

 writing, continue to mention it as 

 a rare breeding bird here. 



I have had the good fortune to find 

 it breeding locally in a few places but 

 still consider it rare, although not 

 quite so much so as in Mr. Samuel's 

 day. Quite a number of the birds he 

 found to be rare, have since become 

 fairly common (with decidedly so) and 

 with others it has been the reverse. 



The Red Breasted Nuthatch is a 

 bird of the Canadian fauna and may 

 be found in Maine, from Knox County, 

 northward. I have found it nesting 

 fairly common in the woods along the 

 coast where its choice of a nesting site 

 and materials used are different from 

 those in Massachusetts. 



Throughout nearly the entire year 

 a few of these little birds may be seen 

 ■here in their favorite localities — dense 

 pine woods on the higher land, sel- 

 dom in the low, swampy country. 

 Whether or not they are the same 

 birds that remain to breed here, or go 

 north to breed and others come in mi- 

 gration to take their places, I am un- 

 able to say. We generally have a 

 month or so of very severe winter 

 weather soon after the first of January 



and think these Nuthatches go a little 

 south of here during that period for 

 seldom is one seen then, but when or- 

 dinary winter weather prevails they 

 re-appear. 



Ever looking for food, their sliarpe 

 notes of yauk or auk (which ever way 

 you think it sounds to you) may be 

 heard long before their little sombre 

 colored bodies can be seen itching 

 up or down some larger tree trunk. 

 The course bark on the tree covering 

 the hiding places of their food of in- 

 sects, eggs, etc. 



The few places I have found them 

 breeding here have been somewhat 

 similar. High ledgery ground, covered 

 with a dense growth of trees, mainly 

 pine but with a few populars growing 

 in the scant soil on the top of the 

 ledges. Some of these populars live 

 long enough to attain a diameter of 

 six inches or so and then die. When 

 the wood has decayed enough to be 

 punky it is then suitable for the lit- 

 tle Red Breasted. The hole they make 

 is very similar to a Downy Woodpeck- 

 er, although the entrance is a trifle 

 smaller. From four to twenty feet 

 up were the heights selected. The 

 foundation for the nest is about a 

 handful of pine needles, then a loosely 

 constructed nest of fine, dry grass and 

 bark strippings. The eggs in a set 

 vary from four to seven and are white 

 with reddish dots. In some sets these 

 dots may form a wreath about the 

 larger end, in others may be scattered 

 over much of the surface; resembling 

 the eggs of the Chickadee and are 

 about the same size. 



The peculiar custom of smearing 

 pine pitch on the outside bark directly 

 under the entrance to nest and down- 

 ward over a space perhaps two inches 

 wide by six inches long is always fol- 

 lowed but the reason for it, I do not 

 know. 



The female is the most concerned 



