Nearly every one readily recognizes this species as it runs up and
down and around the branches and trunks of trees in search of insect
food, now and then uttering its curious _Quauk, quauk, quauk_. The
White-breasted Nuthatch is often improperly called "Sapsucker," a name
commonly applied to the Downy Woodpecker and others. It is a common
breeding bird and usually begins nesting early in April, and two broods
are frequently reared in a season. For its nesting place it usually
selects the decayed trunk of a tree or stub, ranging all the way from
two to sixty feet above the ground. The entrance may be a knot hole, a
small opening, or a small round hole with a larger cavity at the end of
it. Often the old excavation of the Downy Woodpecker is made use of.
Chicken feathers, hair, and a few dry leaves loosely thrown together
compose the nest.
This Nuthatch is abundant throughout the State of Illinois, and is a
permanent resident everywhere except perhaps of the extreme northern
counties. It seems to migrate in spring and return in autumn, but, in
reality, as is well known, only retreats to the woodlands to breed,
emerging again when the food supply grows scant in the autumn.
The Nuthatches associate familiarly with the Kinglets and Titmice, and
often travel with them. Though regarded as shy birds they are not really
so. Their habits of restlessness render them difficult of examination.
"Tree-mice" is the local name given them by the farmers, and would be
very appropriate could they sometimes remain as motionless as that
diminutive animal.
Careful observation has disclosed that the Nuthatches do not suck
the sap from trees, but that they knock off bits of decayed or loose
bark with the beak to obtain the grubs or larvae beneath. They are
beneficial to vegetation. Ignorance is responsible for the misapplied
names given to many of our well disposed and useful birds, and it would
be well if teachers were to discourage the use of inappropriate names
and familiarize the children with those recognized by the best
authorities.
Referring to the Nuthatches Mr. Baskett says: "They are little bluish
gray birds, with white undervests--sometimes a little soiled. Their
tails are ridiculously short, and never touch the tree; neither does the
body, unless they are suddenly affrighted, when they crouch and look,
with their beaks extended, much like a knot with a broken twig on it. I
have sometimes put the bird into this attitude by clapping my hands
loudly near the window. It is an impulse that seems to come to the bird
before flight, especially if the head should be downward. His arrival
is sudden, and seems often to be distinguished by turning a somersault
before alighting, head downward, on the tree trunk, as if he had changed
his mind so suddenly about alighting that it unbalanced him.
"I once saw two Nuthatches at what I then supposed was a new habit.
One spring day some gnats were engaged in their little crazy love
waltzes in the air, forming small whirling clouds, and the birds left
off bark-probing and began capturing insects on the wing. They were
awkward about it with their short wings, and had to alight frequently
to rest. I went out to them, and so absorbed were they that they allowed
me to approach within a yard of a limb that they came to rest upon, where
they would sit and pant till they caught their breath, when they went at
it again. They seemed fairly to revel in a new diet and a new exercise."