|
|
. |
The Nuthatches
Four species of the Nuthatch Family (Sittidae) reside in North
America, with three to be found in the Intermountain Region. Their names
describe them. The White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), the
largest and most widespread, ranges the continent from southern Canada to
southern Mexico. The Red-breasted Nuthatch inhabits coniferous forests, and
does not venture south of the Rio Grande. The Brown-headed Nuthatch is a
bird of the open pine woods of southeastern United States. The Pygmy
Nuthatch also prefers the pines, but its domain is the mountainous yellow
pine belt that extends from British Columbia through the Rockies to the
highlands of Southern Mexico. Most nuthatches dwell the year round where
they breed. The Red-breast, however, may winter as far south as the Gulf
Coast. It is a sporadic winter visitor, coming one year in numbers then
not seen for several years.
The nuthatches of North America measure from 3 3/4 to 6 inches in length.
The sexes are similar. Some will breed in bird boxes, but most often choose
a hole in a tree, and the Red-breasted prefers digging its own. Both sexes
prepare the nest. Incubation lasts twelve to fourteen days, and is largely
the female's chore. The White-breasted seldom lays less than six eggs, and
other species usually four. Eggs are speckled and young are downy.
Low, nasal calls and pipings identify the nuthatches as they comb the
woodlands for bark-dwelling insects and nutmeats. They usually climb down
trees headfirst. Up and down the trunks they search, round and about the
limbs and twigs, ever on the go. Seeds and suet attract them to the winter
feeding tray, but they carry off much more than they eat, for they are great
hoarders.
The White-breasted nuthatch is known by its black cap and beady black eyes
on a white face, white breast, bluish gray back, wings and tail marked with
black and white, chestnut under tail coverts. The bill, slender and chisel
like, may be nearly an inch long. Length about 5 1/2 inches. Alexander
Wetcomb, Research Associate of Smithsonian Institution, comments on this
species as follows: "The White-breast loses none of the family's acrobatic
prowess by being the largest member. He can catch a falling nut in mid-air,
or rush headfirst down a trunk and overtake it. He can hang upside down,
swinging from a tiny branch....They spend most of their waking time gathering
food, climbing over the bark of trunks and main branches of large trees, and
thrive on spiders, insects, insect eggs and acorns, shelling the nuts with
their bills. Generally, they forage with other woodland birds. The
White-breasts remain paired the year round, and keep in touch with a nasal
"yank, yank" call unlike that of any other bird. They also chatter with a
soft conversational "hit, hit".
"With the approach of spring they begin to whistle pleasantly and the male,
rather indifferent during the winter months, pays more attention to his
mate. He bows before her, sings to her, and brings her food. They usually
nest in tree holes, but a box covered with bark may attract them. The
warmly felted cup of feathers, hair, and vegetable fibers receives five to
nine white or pinkish eggs with reddish brown spots."
The Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) is our only nuthatch
with a broad black line through the eye, and a white line over it. Length
is 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 inches. The nest is easily identified by the globules of
pitch (from balsam, pine or spruce), which is smeared around the edge of the
opening hole. No satisfactory explanation is known for this behavior.
The Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea), a very small pine-loving bird,
has a gray-brown cap coming down to the eye, and a whitish spot on the nape.
Length is 3 3/4 to 4 1/2 inches.
-- by Marie L. Atkinson
|
|
