nuthatch

[nuht-hach]

noun

1. any of numerous small, short-tailed, sharp-beaked birds of the family Sittidae that creep on trees and feed on small nuts and insects.

nuthatch

/ ˈnʌtˌhætʃ /

noun

1. any songbird of the family Sittidae, esp Sitta europaea, having strong feet and bill, and feeding on insects, seeds, and nuts

Word History and Origins

Origin of nuthatch¹

1300–50; Middle English notehache, nuthagge, nuthak, literally, nut hacker. See nut, hack ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of nuthatch¹

C14: notehache, from note nut + hache hatchet, from the bird's habit of splitting nuts; see _nut , _hack ¹

Example Sentences

He studied the Lumleys as painstakingly as a poet studies the clouds, or as a birdwatcher studies her warblers and nuthatches.

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“That, I believe, is a nuthatch—Beowulf, do be careful!”

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"This winter I got a woodpecker and a nuthatch" he said, adding the images were "extraordinary".

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She provides shelter, nesting materials, and food to myriad juncos, black-capped chickadees, chestnut-backed chickadees, nuthatches, Bewick’s wrens, towhees, all our native woodpeckers, various migratory birds, pollinators, and so many other wildlife.

Read more on Seattle Times

She says she now never sees less common species like treecreepers, nuthatches and green woodpeckers in her garden.

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