58 KEY AND DESCBIPTION 



with blackish, wings and tail ; the outer (under) tail feathers 

 are white, the forehead marked with a black border, and the 

 under parts lighter and duller than the back. The female is 

 without the black on the forehead. This is a bird usually- 

 found among the upper branches of forest trees, and though 

 his song is sweet and varied, it can be heard but a little dis- 

 tance. His call note, a sharp tmg, is readily heard. 



Length, 4; ; wing, 2J (2-2}) ; tail, 2J ; tarsus, J ; oulmen, f. Middle 

 and southern sections of the eastern United States ; breeding from Illinois 

 and New Jersey southward, and wintering from Florida to Central 

 America. It is rarely, though sometimes, found as far north as Maine 

 and Minnesota. 



FAMILY III. NUTHATCHES AND CHICKADEES (PARIDiE) 



A family (100 species) of small birds, forming two widely 

 separated subfamilies. The Nuthatches are small, active, rest- 

 less, creej)ing, short-tailed, long-winged birds, marked with 

 white, black, and brown colors. These noisy, but not musical, 

 sharp-billed birds are among the most nimble of creepers, 

 scrambling about in every direction, with the head downward 

 as often as in any other position. They derive their name 

 from the habit of wedging nuts into crevices of the bark, and 

 then hacking or hammering away with the bill till the shell 

 is broken. These nuts form only a small portion of their 

 food ; generally they are insect eaters. The Chickadees are all 

 small, active, short-billed, long-tailed birds. Our species are 

 plain birds of white, black, and ashy colors. The titmice, 

 which are included in the subfamily, are conspicuously crested, 

 while the chickadees proper are without crest. The latter are 

 so called from the notes they utter, chicJc-d-dee. 



Key to the Species 



* Tail about as long as the wing and graduated ; i bill less than a 



half inch long, and stout for its length. (B.) 



* Tail about half the length of the wing and square ; bill a 



half inch or more, long and slender. (A.) 

 A. White below with rusty brown only on the under tail l 



coverts X. White-breasted Nuthatch. 



