nuthatch

nut·hatch  (nthch)

n.

Any of several small, short-tailed birds of the family Sittidae, having a long sharp bill and known for climbing down trees headfirst. Also called nutcracker.

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[Middle English notehache : note, nut; see nut + hache, hatchet (from Old French, perhaps of Germanic origin, from its habit of wedging nuts in bark and hacking them open).]

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nuthatch

Noun

a songbird that feeds on insects, seeds, and nuts [Middle English notehache nut hatchet, from its habit of splitting nuts]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

nuthatch - any of various small short-tailed songbirds with strong feet and a sharp beak that feed on small nuts and insects nutcracker oscine, oscine bird - passerine bird having specialized vocal apparatus family Sittidae, Sittidae - nuthatches European nuthatch, Sitta europaea - a kind of nuthatch red-breasted nuthatch, Sitta canadensis - bluish-grey nuthatch with reddish breast; of northern coniferous forests Sitta carolinensis, white-breasted nuthatch - bluish-grey nuthatch with black head and white breast; of eastern North America