727. Sitta carolinensis. 0 inches.

Male with the crown bluish black: female with the crown gray; both sexes with chestnut under tail coverts.

These birds seem to he the very opposite of the Brown Creepers. Their tails are short and square, and nearly always pointed toward the zenith, for Nuthatches usually clamber among the branches and down the tree trunks, head first.

Note. - A nasal "yank-yank," and a repeated "ya-ya," all on the same tone.

Nest. - In cavities of hollow limbs and trunks of trees at any elevation from the ground; the cavity is filled with leaves and usually lined with feathers; eggs white, spotted with reddish brown (.75 x .55 ).

Range. - Eastern United States, breeding from the Gulf to southern Canada; resident in most of its range. 727b. Florida White-breasted Nuthatch (atkinsi) is slightly smaller: other races are found west of the Rockies.