The white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) is a small songbird that breeds in old-growth woodland across much of temperate North America. It is a stocky nuthatch with a large head, short tail, powerful bill, and strong feet. The upperparts are pale blue-gray, and the face and underparts are white. It has a black cap and a chestnut lower belly. The nine subspecies differ mainly in the color of the body plumage. Like other nuthatches, the white-breasted nuthatch forages for insects on trunks and branches and is able to move head-first down trees. Seeds form a substantial part of its winter diet, as do acorns and hickory nuts that were stored by the bird in the fall. The nest is in a hole in a tree, and a breeding pair may smear insects around the entrance as a deterrent to squirrels. Adults and their young may be killed by hawks, owls, and snakes, and forest clearance may lead to local habitat loss, but this is a common species with no major conservation concerns over most of its range.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-breasted_nuthatch

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1637:

The speculative bubble for rare tulip bulbs (catalog pictured) in the Dutch Republic burst, marking the decline of tulip mania. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania

1869:

Prospectors in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, discovered the largest alluvial gold nugget ever found, known as the "Welcome Stranger". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_Stranger

1909:

Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland announced the creation of Bakelite, the world's first synthetic plastic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite

1958:

A Mark 15 nuclear bomb disappeared off the shores of Tybee Island, Georgia, after it was jettisoned during a practice exercise when the bomber carrying it collided in midair with a fighter plane. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Tybee_Island_mid-air_collision

2008:

Eighty-seven tornadoes occurred over the course of the Super Tuesday tornado outbreak across multiple U.S. states, causing 56 deaths and over $1 billion in damage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Super_Tuesday_tornado_outbreak

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

shoot one's cuffs: To straighten one's arms with a sudden movement to make the cuffs of one's shirt appear beyond the sleeves of one's coat or jacket. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shoot_one%27s_cuffs

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The strange alchemy of time has somehow converted the Democrats into the truly conservative party of this country — the party dedicated to conserving all that is best, and building solidly and safely on these foundations. The Republicans, by contrast, are behaving like the radical party — the party of the reckless and the embittered, bent on dismantling institutions which have been built solidly into our social fabric.   --Adlai Stevenson https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Adlai_Stevenson