Evening star., 1902-02-01
The Keen Eyes of the Busy Nut
hatch.
NOTHING ESCAPES HIS OBSERVATION
The Wrens of Carolina and Their
Friendly Ways,
SINGS IN THE SUNSHINE

Copyright, 1901, by Hughes & ousley. LouisviIle.l
Deep in the winter woods, where the wind
whistles and sighs and all nature appears
dead, a queer sound can often be heard.
1t comes floating over the chill stiffness.
"Quauk, quauk quauk." These words do
not convey very good idea Of the sound.
but they approximate it
Like all other bird notes In winter they
help to break the deathlike quiet Even
the snow fakes float slowly when they
come close to the earth as though they, too,
feared to make a noise. The crows, which
cross the light OF the dying day In lines.
are silent; not single cav escapes them.
But In the timber the busy little nuthatch
repeats over and over his "quauk, quauk."
as he hunts for his dinner in the cracks
and crevises OF the bank.
1t is well worth the while to watch one
Of these birds as It searches over a tree.
Nothing on trunk or limbs escapes its keen
eye. Unlike our woodpeckers, II rarely be-
gins at the base of a tree and climbs up
ward, but II commences at the top and
comes down. 1t descends head first, a fact
that adds TO its odd appearance. Indeed, It
Is at home in almost any position on a
tree which has rough bark that gives its
toes and nails a firm hold.
A Nuthatch Dinner.
remember an occurrence that happened
one day late IN the summer while was
sitting under large blackberry tree watch
ing whole family party of nuthatches
busy getting dinner. There were two old
birds and five young ones. and as they
searched the limbs and trunk they all took
many strange positions. Their favorite
pose was with heads down as shown in
the accompanying photograph. But they
would go upward well and then encir-
Gle the tree, hanging SIDE downward all the
while intent on discovering every hiding
place which might harbor some small In
sect.
The nuthatch's bill is admirably adapted
to the work which is required of IL. Ii Is
slender and yet strong, forming a perfect
probe for the openings IN the rough bark
of the forest trees. The tongue is rather
hard on the end, with few barbs-some-
thing after the style of the tongue of the
Woodpecker, although not so perfect.
think very few of these hardy little
birds nest south of the Mason and Dixon
line. They are not at all uncommon in the
south during the winter, however. probably
going there to miss the severe weather OF
the north. They undoubtedly do our forests
great good by killing insects, their larvae
and eggs.
No one is apt to mistake this bird for any
other which We have. excepting possibly
the black and white creeping warbler.
which has the same popularity Of constant
ly going about a tree head downward. The
general color of the upper surfaces OF the
Is 3Sny DlOe. Inc crown OF l.4o
head is black, the black extending down
the back of the neck. The under parts
are dull, dirty white. The sides under
wings and crissum are rusty brown. In
size this bird approximates the English
sparrow.
The Carolina Wren.
At times loud. clear, ringing song comes
from some brush heap or thicket or tangle
along a stretm. 1t is suggestive of our lit
friend the bo,,Sa xx-ra,, ft ls
er and boider than his notes. You may
have to look and hunt carefully before you
get glimpse of the musician Even then
1t Is barely glimpse, for he dives out Of
sight as you come near and you only get
an impression of a small brown bird dodg-
wren. Sit down and remain quiet for a
short time and he win probably come out
and favor you with a song.
He is very much like the rest of natures
children of the open air; he dislikes any
moving object. Everything which moves
he sets down as his enemy.
When he comes out and you can obtain a
good look at him you at once see how diff
ferent he is from his cousin, the house
wren. He is much the same color and is
accustomed to carry his tail in true wren
style, tilted UP over his back; but he is a
much heavier bird. Then too his tail is
not as long as that of the house wren and
he is larger in every way. The color is
about the same, a beautiful rich brown.
Both this bird and the house wren nest
about old outbuildings. But the Carolina
wrens do not grow to be friendly and fear
less like their little relatives They are
always rather shy and secretive I'm their
nesting habits. The nest is loosely put to-
gether. and when In an exposed position is
roughly rooted over for protection.
OF course, the nest building of bird is
largely a matter of instinct. But is tins
something which makes this bit of brown
feathered life roof the nest when in an
exposed location merely instinct? 1t does
not seem SO. j do not say IL is reason.
such as We know and understand in man,
but it is certainly not mere instinct puro
and simple.
In early spring. when all nature is love-
making, this birds brilliant song Is es-
pecially clear and pleasing. Often as L
have listened to this music 1 have wonder
ed how it must sound to his little mate
tiny ear. Our ears fail to catch so many
sounds in nature which the children of the
fields and woods hear and interpret When
a dog or cat stops and listens, when a
dog suddenly shifts the air and learns what
it tells his nose, then we know our limita-
tions. In fact, we have no way of under
standing how much they may realize ard
enjoy of smells and sounds which are abb
soiutely beyond our sense range.
The Carolina wren usually remains with
us during the winter months. On cold
bleak DAYS you may meet him hidden deep
in some dense brush heap or busy hunting
for small insects about the roots of trees.
How well the winter birds know where to
find the sleepy insects under loose bits or
bark or In rough cracks. II stray ray OF
skies, the wren win sometimes sing faint