Nuthatch

An image and a question: why the name "nuthatch"? I am Italian and understand

nut, but the word hatch is beyond my comprehension. I have found different

meanings as a sustantive or as a verb but none seems obvious to me. Than you!

Marco

Hi Marco;

 

Nice image. Since the bird opens up nuts to eat, the "hatch" probably refers to "hatchet", a small axe.

 

regards,

Santo

Marco - here is some info from 'Fauna Britannica' by Stefan Buczacki

 

Nuthatch is derived from the 14th century word 'notehache' and is related to the word 'hack'(therefore nut-hacker? nw).

 

Other local names include - blue leg, jar bird, jobbin, mud dabber, mud stopper, nutcracker, nuthack, nut jobber, nut topper, woodcracker, wood hacker, woodjar and woodpecker.

 

Here's one seen from my kitchen window<div></div>

The Oxford English Dictionary agrees with Nick's research too.

 

 

***

From the shorter OED:

 

Nuthatch (noun, Middle English)

 

From NUT + 2nd element connected with HACK (verb) or HAG (verb) -- from the bird's habit of hacking with the beak at nuts wedged in a crevice.

Marco:

 

Nice detail on the nuthatch (and the tree trunk and the nut). With its right leg forward, it almost looks like he posed for you.

 

Cheers! Jay

Thank you all for your very informative answers. Just in case someone is interested, the italian name translates to something like "Bricklayer Woodpecker", which has to do with the habit to work with mud at the entrance to the nest, but is rather misleading as this is no real woodpecker. Regards, Marco