nuthatch
noun/ˈnʌtˌhæt͡ʃ/
Etymology From Middle English nutthache, notehache, nuthake, nuttehake, nothak, equivalent to nut + hatch (akin to hack). Compare English nutcracker. Compare typologically Polish kowalik (akin to kować).
1
Any of various small passerine birds from the genus Sitta, found throughout the northern hemisphere and noted for their unusual proclivity for climbing down trees head first.
- Nuthatches have rather a habit of entering houses through open windows, probably out of curiosity; and we owed to this habit a pet nuthatch, which became extremely tame, and used to take flies from our finger.1895, Richard Lydekker, editor, The Royal Natural History, Volume 3, Frederick Warne & Co., page 440:
- The bird was in very faded plumage with only a slight rusty wash to the underparts, and had I not heard the call, I might have mistaken it for a Pygmy Nuthatch.1996, The Nebraska Bird Review, Volumes 64-69, Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, page 156:
1 more example
- Considered a resident bird, the red-breasted nuthatch usually winters in the coniferous forests within its breeding range.1998, George Adams, Birdscaping Your Garden, Rodale Press, page 65:
- Derived terms
- Corsican nuthatch, Eurasian nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, wood nuthatch, For more