38 Forest Birds. 
lovely—a bluish grey on the back and upper side of 
the wings, and buff on the breast, shading to a bright 
chestnut on the under tail coverts, the upper and 
under parts thus forming a beautiful contrast in 
colour. The throat is silvery white, and a black line 
of feathers, very similar to the “moustache ” of the 
woodpecker, runs from the base of the upper 
mandible through the eye to the bird’s shoulder. 
The Nuthatch is not a good musician, and indeed 

Fie. 12. 
Head of Nuthatch, showing strong, sharp bill. 
Froin nature. Natural size. 
it is always so much occupied, that it does not seem 
to have time to sing. As it climbs, however, it 
utters several different call notes, the chief of which 
is very shrill and piercing, and when once heard will 
not be easily forgotten. The syllable “ twhit” 
whistled quickly in a loud, high-pitched tone, much 
resembles this call note, which is usually repeated 
from four to six times. Another note, not so often 
used, sounds like “twe-twhit,” the first syllable being 
