Page 8 - June 2, 2021

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THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Special Delivery

“Nature abhors a vacuum,” said Aristotle—and a pair of
nuthatches building their nest in a deserted mailbox.

NATURE AROUND US J. Morton Galetto, CU Maurice River

TOP LEFT: Young chick takes what appears
to be a piece of lichen from its father. Note
the pointy beak and black cap of the male.

ABOVE: Female descends a tree trunk
holding a moth caterpillar that is camou-
flaged by the bark background. Note the
steely gray blue back and black collar.
is believed that the chemicals released from
n our daily morning walk we pass a Five white-breasted a crushed insect may repel predators or spe-
house that is abandoned—boarded nuthatch chicks await their cific insect pests. Males will also awkwardly
Oup and hauntingly lonely. In this next meal in their mailbox crane their necks, fan their tails and dance
emptiness the mailbox is no longer purpose- home. RIGHT: The abandoned bizarrely when calling. Kilham identified
mailbox that houses the
ful. But wait, a white-breasted nuthatch brood of five. ALL PHOTOS specific calls as indicative of various levels
descends into the box from a nearby white BY AUTHOR of sexual interest and excitement. Evidently
oak. “A nest, a delivery box,” I think, humor- the female can watch such performances for
ing myself. When the adult flies off I peer interior of the door above the floor. Achiev- mate on how their chicks’ meals are to be six to eight minutes at a time in a hypnotic
into the cavity of darkness and squint to see. ing this milestone tells me fledging will offered, much like sending Dad back to the state of attentiveness. When she is accepting
My handy phone light allows me to make happen very soon. After emerging from the grill when a steak is too rare. the male’s advances she will swing her head
out five little faces‚ nuthatch chicks, each egg the young remain in the nest for just two Kilham studied pair bonding and relayed back and forth in a pendulum fashion.
one more endearing than the next. In the weeks. Nuthatches have only one clutch per their “hit-tuck” note exchanges through fall Males and females are sexually dimor-
absence of tenants, a void is filled. “Nature season, so there is little room for error. and winter. “Much of the answering by the phic. Males have a black cap and rusty rear
abhors a vacuum,” I muse. Males and females make monogamous two birds is irregular, for one may be feeding from vent to covert feathers. Females have
The house has been vacant for a number bonds and will remain paired beyond while the other continues calling alone. A a gray cap and lack the patch of color, with
of years, but likely not the mailbox. The the mating season. Sometimes mates are fast rate of exchanges is 30 a minute, but this the frosty white extending from cheek to
oak trees that surround the abode are not retained for successive seasons. The male is rate is seldom maintained. The term inti- coverts. Both have a steely gray back with a
trimmed or sprayed. Caterpillars and other the dominant bird, pushing the female aside mate is appropriate as these notes reflect the thin white wingbar along the coverts.
insects are abundant in this oasis. Using my when competing for food. They have a rath- close pair bond of a well-established pair.” They are year-round residents in every
vehicle as a blind I watch numerous cater- er elaborate courtship that involves the male He theorized that the note exchanges help U.S. state, with a range extending into
pillars, a live moth, and what appears to be a presenting the female with a tidbit. This is the birds to keep track of one another as southern Canada and interior Mexico. Of
carpenter ant dutifully delivered to the nest. common to many songbirds, denoting “I’m they circle tree trunks. Because of the calls’ the four nuthatches in the United States the
At about four-minute intervals the parents a good provider.” The female might reject variations he believed they also denoted white-breasted are the most widely distrib-
alternate in bringing meals. The young are food that is not prepared before serving. mood and conveyed information. uted. Conversely the familiar red-breasted
nearly ready to fledge and they are consum- Observations by amateur ornithologist, In breeding season males have a court- nuthatch’s range is extended by its winter
ing their insect diet with great frequency. physician, and nature writer Lawrence Kil- ship song and do a lot of bowing when habitat while it is much more limited during
At one point an adult seems to pluck ham included a male having to take a cater- feeding a female prior to nesting. Males will breeding. The pigmy nuthatch is confined
lichen from the rooftop of the box and feed pillar to a crevice and pierce it several times actually sing hanging inverted at nesting to western states. And the brown-headed
it to a chick who has braved coming to the before presenting it again to the female holes and swing into an upright position in nuthatch is primarily a resident of the
opening. In order to accept the parental who then finally accepted it. The female is silence. Sometimes they will “sweep” the southeastern U.S.
passage of food the chick must cling to the presumed to be schooling her prospective nest’s entrance with an insect in their bill. It What about those oaks around the