2017 Canada $10 Birds Among Nature's Colours Nuthatch Fine Silver (No Tax)

Showcases a beautifully engraved bird in its colourful Canadian habitat!

Small yet vocal, the active white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) always seems to be on the go! Its nasal yank-yank call announces its presence year-round at backyard feeders, or in the wooded areas across much of southern Canada. Remarkably, this small songbird enjoys a unique view of its surroundings, for it willthink nothing of creeping down a tree headfirst or hanging upside down from a vertical branch.

The white-breast nuthatch is the largest of its kind, and was namedfor its habit of pecking at its meal: first, it wedges a hard-shelled nut or some other type of seed ina crevice in the tree bark; then, it uses its long bill to hammer away until the nut is broken into smaller pieces that are just right for this little songbird!

The nuthatch on your coin is particularly eye-catching as it perches on the prickly branch of a white spruce (Picea glauca) tree. A popular choice for Christmas trees in Canada, this coniferous evergreen is a fixture in the boreal forest that stretches from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia, and north to the arctic tree line. It offers shelter to many woodland species, while sprucecones yield seeds that are happily extracted by many bird species—including the nuthatch.