The Nuthatch. 167 



bubbling twitter ; but its call-note is a shrill tvhit-whit. The food in summer 

 principally consists of insects, in search of which it sometimes comes in contact 

 with various Tits or even the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, towards which it ex- 

 hibits its ver}- pugnacious disposition. In the autumn, when insects are becoming 

 scarce, it turns to nuts, beech-mast, seeds of conifers, and berries ; and in the 

 winter it will approach houses to feed on refuse scraps. 



As a cage-bird the Nuthatch is constantl}' increasing in popularity ; as the 

 numbers now exhibited at our shows testify. When reared from the nest it 

 becomes just as tame and confiding as the species of Tits, running over and 

 examining its owner in the same manner ; but even adult birds caught wild, 

 although at first they show impatience of captivit}' after the manner of all the Tit- 

 like birds, do not (as Seebohm asserts) necessarily die on that account : perhaps if 

 kept in a small cage the violent blows which they deal in their frantic rage at close 

 confinement after liberty, may injure the front of the skull and thus produce death; 

 but this is also the case with the Great Tit when similarly treated. The best 

 plan with all these birds when first captured is to give them plenty of room in 

 a box-cage, the back of which should be covered with virgin-cork, behind which 

 (when alarmed) they may retire. For a day or two it is well to cover the front 

 of the cage with muslin, which renders all newly caught birds less liable to attempt 

 escape in that direction ; gradually accustom them to yowx presence, always offering 

 them delicacies until they learn to trust you : for as Lord Lilford says : — " The 

 kernel of a hazel or ground-nut is an irresistible morsel, and will tempt an old 

 wild-caught Nuthatch to snatch it from the fingers very soon after capture." 



T2 



