NUTHATCHES 



THE TOPSY-TURVY BIRDS 



White-Breasted Nuthatch 

 {Figs. 38, 39) 



UDGED by the frequenqr with which 

 , they are seen together, one of 

 Chickadee's best friends is the 

 White-breasted Nuthatch. Dur- 

 ing the summer, when both are oc- 

 cupied with family cares, they have 

 little time for each other's society, but in the winter 

 they are inseparable companions. 



When, therefore, we hear Chickadee's greeting 

 and soon find him swinging from limb to limb, we 

 often hear also a strange voice saying "yank, yank" 

 and chattering some words in a lower tone as though 

 its owner was talking to himself. We look about to 

 see who this can be and quickly find a short-tailed, 

 long-billed, gray, black-capped bird who, we observe, 

 runs down the trunk of a tree as easily as he can 

 climb up. 



At the same moment he sees us, stops his search 

 30 



