Evening star., 1945-05-31
This and That
By Charles E. TrdceUell.
ARLINGTON, VA.

1a1SAANo4oN, va.
Dear Sir:
Il have frequent visitor to my feed
ing station which can't identify. This
little bird is about 4 inches in length.
The top of the head down the neck Is
a royal blue. The side Of the head and
the breast is white with a slight tint
of blue. The rest Of the bird is the color
Of blue jay, with few royal blue tail
feathers.
Il have seen this bird walk up and
down tree trunks, sometimes in a spiral,
other times straight up and down. This
leads me to believe it is a woodpecker.
although have not seen it pecking at
the tree yet.
Yours truly, J. M. NJ"
Our correspondent is of on his size,
but this bird must be the white breasted
nuthatch.
The red-breasted nuthatch comes here
occasionally, but the white-breasted is
the common companion of chickadees
and titmice.
1t is about inches long, rather broad
in the beam, with the interesting habit
of walking head down on tree trunks.
The color which is described above as
royal blue is rather black with blush
gloss. This would work out to royal
blue in many peoples estimation.
Both nuthatches and chickadees are
known as upside. down BIRDS" but the
nuthatch does it much the best of the
two.
He often seeks insects and their eggs
in bark. and in doing so walks head
down. Devil downhead" Is one of his
popular names. Occasionally he is
called sapsucker, but this, OF course, is
incorrect.
The name, common in some parts of
the country, is due to confusion with
the downy woodpecker, which is the
smallest of the woodpecker family. Peo-
pie have seen both nuthatches and
sapsuckers on trees, and also the downy
and hairy woodpeckers, and have er-
roneously come to the conclusion that
the nuthatch must be a sort of wood
pecker, or sapsucker. Woodpeckers, of
course, do not tap for sap. That is,
ordinary woodpeckers do not. The yell
low-bellied sapsucker, which belongs to
the woodpecker family, seeks drink at
naples, and sometimes causes real DAM
age.
The white breasted nuthatch is one of
the finest of all our birds, and is fairly
common in nearby Maryland and Vir-
gir1ia. 1t is a favorite of all who know it.
1t does good work throughout the year
(since it stays with us the year around)
IN seeking out and consuming small
insects which have sought refuge in
tree bark.
Working on these trees all winter, the
nuthatches destroy a great many inim-
ical insects and their larvae, and thus
put the trees in good sanitary condition
to 60 ahead in the spring.
The blue jay, too, must be called a
tree sanitarian, because he hides small
bits OF food in crevices of bark, and
the nuthatches, chickadees and titmtce
IN looking for these pieces of food. find
insects and eggs from time to times
Natures seemingly haphazard ways
result in good, if men will leave them
alone, which, of course, they will not.
except when it becomes plain to all that
interference is going to cause an end
to some valuable species. Even then it
Is dimcult to secure real conservation.
The nuthatch is friendly creature
II the home owner will stand quite still.
the bird will come around the trunk
to take good look at him.
One good thing about small feeding
station attached to a tree trunk, saw s
feet up, is that it attracts the white
breasted nuthatch, which invariably
strikes the tree above the feeder, and
then comes head down to it, seizes a
seed and walks up again.
The name "nuthatch" comes from
the mistaken belief that the bird
"hatches" or hacks hickory nuts or wal
nuts. ("Hatch" means hack, from the
same root which gives us 'hatchet.)
The characteristic call Of the white
breasted nuthatch is a nasal "yank,"
which somehow seems to be quite fitting.
All In all, this is one of the most inter-
esting and useful birds which comes to
our yards.