Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of several small, short-tailed birds of the genus Sitta found in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, having a long sharp bill and known for climbing down trees headfirst.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A bird of the family Sittidæ.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of birds of the genus Sitta, as the European species (
Sitta Europæa ). Thewhite-breasted nuthatch (Sitta Carolinensis ), thered-breasted nuthatch (Sitta Canadensis ), thepygmy nuthatch (Sitta pygmæa ), and others, are American.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of various small
passerine birds from the familySittidae found throughout the Northern hemisphere that have the unusual ability to climb down trees head first.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any of various small short-tailed songbirds with strong feet and a sharp beak that feed on small nuts and insects
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Thus secured, the nuthatch may hack the seed open with its bill hence the name nuthatch or cover it with a piece of bark or moss for a later snack.
The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Eastern United States Janine M. Benyus 1989
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The word "nuthatch" is derived from the fondness of the Eurasian species for hazel nuts.
The Annotated "Eyes of the World" Robert Hunter 1914
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"nuthatch," a word that gives an erroneous impression, for no bird ever hatches a nut.
Our Bird Comrades 1896
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The stacked wood, being undisturbed for the summer months, is a haunt of mice, and the stoat undulates over it, coming down headfirst like a nuthatch.
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From above, as I watched the tits depart, came a soft drumming on a dead trunk – a female lesser spotted woodpecker, little bigger than a nuthatch.
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With a close focus of 14 feet 4.27 meters, these exceptional little binoculars allow me just the right amount of distance to enjoy the "up close" views of the outdoor bird feeder from my indoor easy chair – yet still be able to tell a nuthatch from a chickadee in a more distant tree.
Great Binoculars For Kids – Celestron 12X25 UpClose Binoculars | Universe Today 2010
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I spotted the rusty while scanning for the nuthatch through my binoculars.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Skin Deep Jerome Preisler 2010
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You know our little nuthatch guy was more of a pokey sort, yes.
I, Trampoline kittenpie 2008
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The more common birds are the winter wren, Townsend's warbler, chestnut-backed chickadee, red-breasted nuthatch, gray jay, and Steller's jay.
Cascade Mixed Forest - Coniferous Forest - Alpine Meadow Province (Bailey) 2009
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Some of the more common birds are the northern pygmy-owl, olive warbler, red-faced warbler, hepatic tanager, mountain bluebird, pygmy nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, Mexican junco, Steller's jay, red-shafted flicker and the Rocky Mountain sapsucker.
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