31G 
BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
The White-breasted Nuthatch, generally known in this locality by the 
name of “ Sapsucker,” is a common resident throughout the state. 
During the summer this species inhabits trees in groves and forests, 
but in winter it visits trees of orchards, yards and gardens in quest of 
food. The name of “Sapsucker,” given to this bird and also to the 
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, is, when so used, a misnomer, as 
neither the nuthatch or either of the woodpeckers ever feed on sap. 
Nuthatches, like woodpeckers, creep about the trunks and limbs of trees 
searching for insects, or their eggs, and various larvae. The nuthatch 
deposits its eggs, usually five or six in number, in a warm bed of feath¬ 
ers, hair and grasses which are placed in holes of trees. The eggs are 
white, speckled with reddish-brown; about .75 long by .55 wide. These 
birds, in addition to feeding on various forms of insect-life, also eat 
nuts, acorns, Indian corn, and various seeds, which they frequently stick 
into the crevices of bark or in cracks of fence rails, and hammer away 
with their bills until the nut or other food stuff is sufficiently broken 
that it may be swallowed. 
Sitta canadensis Linn. 
Red-breasted Nuthatch. 
Description {Plate 58). 
Length about 4f ; extent about 8§. Above dark ashy-blue ; below reddish-brown 
(some specimens have feathers about chin and throat whitish), crown and sides of 
head black (these parts in female are dark grayish); a white superciliary stripe } 
lores blackish ; tail feathers, except central pair, tipped with white. 
Habitat .—North America at large, breeding mostly north of the United States, mi¬ 
grating south in winter. 
The Red-breasted Nuthatch breeds sparingly in the higher mountain¬ 
ous and northern parts of the state. In the southern parts of the com¬ 
monwealth it occurs as a rather rare winter visitant. During the spring 
and fall migrations this species is more frequently met with than at any 
other time. I have found this nuthatch to be quite plentiful in Octo¬ 
ber and the early part of November in Erie county, and Mr. Sennett in¬ 
forms me it breeds sparingly in portions of Crawford county, where it is 
found at all seasons of the year. In the southeastern part of our state 
(Chester, Delaware and Lancaster counties) these birds, according to 
my observation, are found as rather irregular winter residents ; during 
severe winters they generally go farther southward. Prof. H. J. Roddy 
has found this bird breeding in the mountainous regions. Food of the 
Red-breasted Nuthatch is similar to that of the last described species. 
