96 WHITE-BREASTED, BLACK-CAPPED NUTHATCH. 
the latter are pure white. The European has a line of black passing 
through the eye, half way down the neck; the present species has 
nothing of the kind, but appears with the inner webs of the three 
shortest secondaries and the primaries of a jet black; the latter tipped 
with white, and the vent and lower parts of the thighs of a rust color: 
the European, therefore, and the present, are evidently two distinct 
and different species.* : 
This bird builds its nest early in April, in the hole of a tree, ina 
hollow rail in the fence, and sometimes in the wooden cornice under 
the eaves; and lays five eggs, fa dull white, spotted with brown at 
the greater end. "The male is extremely attentive to the female while 
sitting; supplying her regularly with sustenance, stopping frequently 
at the mouth of the hole, calling and offering her what he has brought, 
in the most endearing manner. Sometimes he seems to stop merely 
to inquire how she is, and to lighten the tedious moments with his 
soothing chatter. He seldom rambles far from the spot; and when 
danger appears, regardless of his own safety, he flies instantly to 
alarm her. When both are feeding on the trunk of the same tree, or 
of adjoining ones, he is perpetually calling on her; and, from the 
momentary pause he makes, it is plain that he feels pleased to hear 
her reply. 
The White-breasted Nuthatch is common almost every where in the 
woods of North America, and may be known, at a distance, by the 
notes, quank, quank, frequently repeated, as he moves, upward and 
down, in spiral circles, around the body and larger branches of the 
tree, probing behind the thin scaly bark of the white oak, and shelling 
off considerable pieces of it, in search after spiders, ants, insects, and 
their larve. He rests and roosts with his head downwards, and ap- 
pears to possess a degree of curiosity not common to many birds; 
frequently descending, very silently, within a few feet of the root of 
the tree where you happen to stand, stopping, head downward, stretch- 
ing out his neck in a horizontal position, as if to reconnoitre your 
appearance ; and, after several minutes of silent observation, wheeling 
round, he again mounts, with fresh activity, piping his unisons as be- 
fore. Strongly attached to his native forests, he seldom forsakes 
them; and, amidst the rigors of the severest winter weather, his note 
is still heard in the bleak and leafless woods, and among the howling 
branches. Sometimes the rain, freezing as it falls, encloses every 
twig, and even the trunk of the tree, in a hard, transparent coat or 
shell of ice. On these occasions I have observed his anxiety and 
dissatisfaction, at being, with difficulty, able to make his way along 
the smooth surface; at these times generally abandoning the trees, 
gleaning about the stables, around the house, mixing among the fowls, 
entering the barn, and examining the beams and rafters, and every 
place where he may pick up a subsistence. 
The name Nuthatch has been bestowed on this family of birds, 
from their supposed practice of breaking nuts by repeated hatchings, 
or hammerings with their bills. Soft-shelled nuts, such as chestnuts, 
* Wilson is perfectly correct in considering this species as distinct from that of 
Europe ; he has marked out the distinctions wel in the description. It is described 
by Vieillot as Sitta melanocephala, — ED. 
