NUTHATCHES. FAMILY SITTIDÆ
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH
Sitta carolinensis carolinensis. [Case 2], Figs. 38, 39; [Case 4], Fig. 65
Crown black, cheeks white; breast white; the female with a gray crown. L. 6.
Range. Nests from Gulf States to Canada; a Permanent Resident. The Florida White-breasted Nuthatch (S. c. atkinsi) a slightly smaller form in which the female as well as the male has the crown black, is the race inhabiting Florida, the Atlantic coast to South Carolina and the Gulf coast to Mississippi.
Washington, common T.V. and W.V., less common S.R. Ossining, common P.R. Cambridge, P.R., rare in summer, uncommon in winter, common in migrations; most numerous in Oct. and Nov. N. Ohio, common P.R. Glen Ellyn, fairly common P.R. SE. Minn., common P.R.
During the summer we will see comparatively little of this bird who, with equal ease, climbs either down or up a tree trunk, but in the winter he will be a constant patron of the nuts and suet on our lunch counters. Habit, markings, his unmistakable yank-yank, all distinguish him from our other birds, except his Canadian cousin to which, after all, he bears only a family resemblance.
In April, 5-7 white, brown speckled eggs are laid in a hole in a tree, lined with feathers, etc.
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH
Sitta canadensis. [Case 2], Figs. 60, 61
Underparts brownish, a line through the eye, black in the male, slate in the female. Smaller than the White-breasted Nuthatch. L. 4¾.
Range. Nests from northern New England and northern Minnesota into Canada; south along the Alleghanies to North Carolina; winters from southern Canada to the Gulf States.
Washington, irregularly abundant W.V., sometimes rare, Sept. 15-May 10. Ossining, irregular W.V., Aug. 8-May 8. Cambridge, irregular T.V., and W.V., Aug. 15-Nov. 25; Nov. 25-Apl. 15. N. Ohio, tolerably common W.V., Sept. 4-May 22. Glen Ellyn, irregular T.V., Apl. 24-May 21; Aug. 19-Dec. 12. SE. Minn., common T.V., uncommon W.V., Sept. 24-Apl. 21.
Late in August when I hear a note such as one might imagine a baby Nuthatch would utter, I know that the Red-breasted Nuthatch has arrived from the north perhaps to spend the winter, or, may be, to go farther south. He never seems quite as familiar as his larger, louder-voiced, white-breasted cousin, and if one wants to make his acquaintance it is well to follow the sound of his penny-trumpet-like notes until their author is discovered.
BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH
Sitta pusilla. [Case 4], Fig. 66
The head is browner than in the figure; the nape has a downy white patch. Smallest of our Nuthatches. L. 4½.
Range. Nests from Florida to southern Delaware and southern Missouri; a Permanent Resident.
The Brown-headed Nuthatch is a bird of southern pine forests; one may travel for miles without seeing a single individual and then discover a company of a score or more. They pass most of their time among the upper branches uttering a pit-pit as they hunt for food, or all suddenly joining in a metallic tnee-tnee-tnee, when they are apt to take flight to the adjoining trees. The nest is in a hole in a tree or stump, generally near the ground; 5-6 white, heavily marked eggs being laid in March.