204 



ADVKNTUEES OF TIIKEE YOUNG NATURALISTS. 



Paul, who was examining the birds, began: " This is a bridge pewee I 

 should think, although it looked out of place in the piny woods where I shot 

 it. This is surely a yellow-rumped warbler. 



"Yes," interrupted Harry, " that is my bird, and I am sure that it is 

 rare. See the yellow spot on the lower part of its back." 



" That is no proof of its rarity," resumed Paul, " I have always found 

 yellow-rumps common enough north, besides I've seen at least a dozen today. 

 But with the exception of these bluebirds, the quail, and these two species, 

 everything is strange to me ; I should like to have you tell me about them, 

 Professor Hall." 



" Well," said the Professor, " these little birds are brown-headed nut- 

 hatches. Note the peculiarly pointed, and seemingly upturned bill. See also 



Fig. 95. 



White-bellied Nuthatch. A, tongue. 



the peculiar tongue as I draw it out of the mouth. Its tip looks as if it 

 had been broken off irregularly." 



"Why is the tip so irregular?" asked George. 



" It is probably due to the fact, that as the nuthatch feeds largely upon 

 the eggs of insects, which live in the crevices of the bark, where the bird 

 cannot get at them Avith its bill, hence uses its tongue to remove them, it 

 thus it becomes worn away irregularly. The tongues of all of our nuthatch- 

 es are similar. Here is the figure of the head of a white-bellied nuthatch, 

 a well known northern species with the tongue beside it." 



"What is this bird with the crimson top to the head?" asked Paul. 

 "I it a red-headed woodpecker?" 



"It has a red head," answered Jhe Professor, "but it is not the spe- 

 cie sually called the red-headed woodpecker. You can see that this is 



