NUTHATCHES 



(729) Sitta pusilla Latham 



(Lat.. small). 



BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH. 

 Sexes very similar, the 9 being only a 

 trifle duller plumaged. Back, wings 

 and tail as in the last species; top of 

 head cinnamon-browii ; a stripe of 

 darker through the eye; a white 

 patch on the nape; under parts gray- 

 ish-white. L., 4.30; W., 2.50; T., 1.25; 

 B., .50. Nest — Of grasses and feath- 

 ers, in holes in trees at any height 

 from the ground; five or six white 

 eggs rather uniformly speckled with 

 reddish-brown, .60 x .50. 



Range — Southeast ern U.S. 

 Breeds from Del. and southern Mo. 

 south to the Gulf coast and southern 

 Fla.; casually north to N. Y. and 

 southern Mich. 



resident in most sections. While they ordinarily frequent 

 woodland, they sometimes take up their abode in orchard 

 trees. 



The notes of this species all have a nasal quality. One 

 often heard at all seasons is a soft " Yna"; another is a louder 

 and more emphatic "ynank, ynank, ynank"; in spring they 

 are very active, chasing one another about over limbs either 

 in play or to show their skill at climbing. At this season, too, 

 the woods often resound with their spring songs, a laughing 

 "yna-ha-ha-ha-ha. " Their food is chiefly of insects, eggs or 

 larvae, which they gather from under the bark, sometimes 

 pecking woodpecker fashion but more often using the bill as a 

 crowbar to pry the bark up. 



RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES are known in most 

 of the United States only as winter visitors. They are easily 

 recognized from the preceding by the small size, rusty under 

 parts, black stripe on the sides of the head and the softer, 

 higher pitched notes that they utter. Although often in 



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