Mabel Osgood Wright

“ This Nuthatch, who is our most conspicuous bird-acrobat, persistently walking head downward and performing various tortuous feats while he searches for food, is a resident of the eastern United States, only leaving the most northerly parts of his range for a short time in winter.
He appears to migrate in spring and return in autumn, but in reality only retreats to the woodlands to breed, emerging again when the food supply grows scant in the autumn. ”

“ The Nuthatches are great friends of the Kinglets and Titmice, and often travel in flocks with them. They pass for being shy, but are not so in reality, but merely elusive because of their restless habits, which seldom allow them to stay in one spot long enough to be examined. ”

“ This species has a particularly adroit way of knocking off bits of decayed or loose bark with the beak, to obtain the grubs or larvae hidden beneath. They never suck the sap from trees, as is sometimes supposed, but are wholly beneficial to vegetation. ”