The Common and Uncommon Nuthatch
The White-breasted Nuthatch is a fairly common bird. It has
ordinary coloring – black and gray with white underparts – and is small, about
the size of a sparrow. It frequents woodlands and deciduous forests like the
Black-capped Chickadee. It makes its nest in tree hollows like the woodpecker
and, also like the woodpecker, has an undulating flying pattern. It eats
insects and seeds (particularly sunflower seeds) like so many other birds. So
what makes this bird unique?
It’s an upside-down creature most of the time while other
birds have more of a rightside-up personality. The Nuthatch is the only bird
that regularly starts at the top of the tree (or birdfeeder) and works its way
down as it seeks its food. There is an advantage to going downward; the bird is
able to see food overlooked by the usual upward direction of other birds.
And that is what speaks to me. What causes this one bird,
who is like other birds in lots of ways, to do something different when it
would be so easy to do what the rest of the bird world does?
It is intriguing to see what the natural world offers as
mirrors. This simple example makes me think of us, the human species, and how
we have so many commonalities – in culture, in peer groups, in professions, in
fashions, etc. – that make it almost inevitable that we be the same. Like the
Nuthatch, however, we may have to deviate from the usual to find what nourishes
us, what distinguishes us as individuals. And it is that something that helps
us to express our true, particular nature within the broader spectrum of
humanity.
Here is a general introduction to the Nuthatch and for more
specific information about the White-breasted Nuthatch, click on the link at
the left.
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