THE WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 



{Sitta carolinensis.) 



Come, busy Nuthatch, with your awl, 



But never mind your notes, 

 Unless you've dropped your nasal chords 



And tuned your husky throats. 

 — Ella Gilbert Ives, "Robin's Thanksgiving Proclamation." 



To those persons who reside in regions 

 where snow storms and cold prevail dur- 

 ing the winter, it is indeed most gratify- 

 ing that some of the birds do not migrate, 

 but remain through these gloomy and 

 cheerless months. Even the despised 

 English sparrow gives pleasure by its 

 presence in our door-yards, and we have 

 a feeling of companionship for it as it 

 snugs cozily in some protected nook 

 of our warmed home, and then, how 

 delighted these birds are when spring 

 comes ! They begin singing and we 

 delight in the return of warmer days and 

 the opening of the buds. Even the busy 

 White-breasted Nuthatch, which would 

 seem to have been always too busy to 

 practice a song, cannot resist the invigor- 

 ating influence of returning spring and 

 attempts a song. This song, if it may be 

 so called, consists of simple syllables 

 which Dr. Dawson expresses by the 

 following sounds : Tew, tew, tew, tew, 

 tew. These notes do not lack a musical 

 quality. They are uttered in a high and 

 penetrating voice and their carrying 

 power seems greatly out of proportion 

 to the size of the bird. 



The White-breasted Nuthatch is a con- 

 stant resident throughout nearly all of its 

 geographical range, which covers eastern 

 North America from the Gulf of Mexico, 

 north to British America, and westward 

 to the Rocky Mountains. It is easily 

 identified by its acrobatic appearance, as 

 it travels in any direction upon the tree 

 trunk in its search for insect food ; by 

 the black and bluish-gray colors of the 

 plumage <>f the upper parts; by the pure 

 white of the plumage of the underside 

 of the body, and by its peculiar nasal 

 yank, Of more frequently a twittering 



note, both uttered as the bird creeps 

 along the tree. The notes are uttered, 

 no matter what the position of the bird 

 may be. Its voice is just as clear and 

 loud when running down a tree trunk as 

 it is when progressing upward. The 

 White-breasted Nuthatch is easy to iden- 

 tify, for it "assumes attitudes no bird 

 outside his family would think of attempt- 

 ing." 



The Nuthatch is always busy. It is 

 not so actively engaged, however, but 

 that a few moments can be spared in 

 which to carefully examine an intruder. 

 While an inquisitive bird, it is not excit- 

 able and looks at one with a calm 

 demeanor that would indicate but little 

 fear. 



With the other members of its family, 

 the White-breasted Nuthatch has the 

 habit of wedging nuts, and sometimes 

 grains of corn, into crevices of the bark 

 and then hatching them with strong and 

 rapid blows of its sharp bill. It ham- 

 mers the nuts to pieces, not for the pur- 

 pose of eating the softer parts, but 

 rather to obtain the insect larva that may 

 be hidden within. It searches diligently 

 under the scaly bark, among the lichens 

 and in the crevices for small insects, 

 larvae and insect eggs which may be hid- 

 den there. Always searching through 

 the daylight hours, during winter or 

 summer, rain or shine, this interesting 

 bird performs a service to the horticul- 

 turist the value of which cannot be esti- 

 mated. With its near relatives it de- 

 stroys a vast number of insects that are 

 not captured by other birds. 



The White-Breasted Nuthatches are 

 devoted parents and during the nesting 

 season rarely go far from their home. 



