WHlTE-BREASTED NUTHATCH
PR

"The upside down bird of nature" is the description John Kiernan gives in his delightful book, "Footnotes of Nature," of the white-breasted nuthatch. This quaint little bird is a joy to watch as it clambers about in an untiring search for grubs, insect eggs and tiny spiders that hide deeply in bark crevices away from searching eyes of most other birds. It is just as much at home coming head first down a tree as going up and often climbs entirely around a horizontal limb.

Three species occur in the eastern portion of the country, and the white-breasted is much the commoner: the others being the red-breasted and brown-headed. Found chiefly in hardwood forests, the white-breasted has much more territory to feed in than the red-breasted and brown-headed, which prefer evergreen stands of timber.

The white-breasted nuthatch is six inches long, with upper parts bluish-gray and black and a crown of jet black. It is stub-tailed and long billed and has feet equipped with sharply curved claws that enable it to climb around in all positions. It is a friendly bird and comes readily to bird feeders if a small chunk of suet is provided.

The name nuthatch is derived from the bird's habit of wedging a nut into the bark or crevice of a tree. Here it is hammered on with the sharp beak until the nut kernel is exposed and devoured.

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