Notes from Jewett City, Conn. 



i "White-bellied Nuthatch. On Monday, 

 iMay 19tli, one of my young friends, a 

 farmer's boy, wlio is somewhat interested 

 in oology, asked me if I knew what kind 

 of a "Woodpecker" laid speckled eggs'? 

 I told him that I had never known a 

 Woodpecker to so far depart from the es- 

 tablished customs of its family as to lay 

 j other than pure white eggs. 



He said he had found a nest in a hole in 

 an apple tree containing nine eggs. They 

 'were white with reddish spots, and accord- 

 ing to his notion, incubation was pretty 

 well advanced, for he admitted that he had 

 broken three while trying to blow them, 

 and declared that they could not be blown. 

 From his description of the birds and eggs 

 I felt certain that he had found a nest of 

 the White-beUied Nuthatch, {Sitta caroli- 

 nensis,) so I went with him and he gener- 

 ously gave me three of the eggs. There 

 were no doubts in my mind, after seeing 

 the eggs, as to what species laid them. I 

 experienced very little trouble in blowing 

 them, altho ugh they were somewhat incu- 

 bated. This was the first nest of the 

 White-bellied Nuthatch that I had ever 

 heard of in this part of the state, and I 

 learned with regret that both of the parent 

 birds were shot " for the purpose of iden- 

 tification." Within two weeks after learn- 

 ing of this nest I was informed of two 

 others that had been found. Each con- 

 tained nine eggs. 



O.&O. IX. Aug. 1884. p, fOff. 



White-bellied Nuthatch. — My first nest ^ 

 was found in April, 1880, but thinking it 

 too early for eggs I waited until May, when 

 young rewarded me. This nest was in a 

 large natural cavity in an oak tree, about 

 twenty feet high. The nest was composed 

 principally of a sort of felt-like substance, 

 mixed with some bark and lined with hair. 

 It was about 100 yards from the second 

 nest, collected April 26, 1882. This nest 

 was in an enormous white oak, on a hill- 

 side, and fully fifty feet from the ground. 

 The entrance was a knot hole, in the live jj 

 wood, about 2|^ X 2 inches. The cavity in- m 

 side was quite large and was nearly filled 

 by the nest, Which was composed almost ^ 

 entirely of oak bark and a lining of hair. ^ 

 The nest contained six fresh eggs, which I j 

 secured by means of a rude wooden spoon. ^ 

 They were, before blowing, of a rosy-white 

 color, spotted thickly with reddish brown. ^ 

 The birds showed much solicitude, fre- ^ 

 quently coming within a few feet and rap- 

 idly repeating their usual note. — L. H. 

 Rich, Saratoga Springs, N'. Y. 



