Io6 NUTHATCH. 



presence of such questionable species as 6'. riipicola in Persia and 

 S. cashmirensis in Northern India. Our bird is absent from Malta, 

 Sardinia and Corsica • but in the last-named island it is represented 

 by a distinct species, S. ^uliiteheadi, with white under parts, and, in 

 the male, a jet-black head, named by Mr. R. B. Sharpe after its 

 discoverer. 



The Nuthatch begins to breed about the middle of April ; gene- 

 rally making its nest in some hole in a branch of a tree, and occa- 

 sionally between the buttresses of the trunk, close to the ground. 

 A hole in a wall is sometimes selected ; and, in every instance, the 

 aperture is filled up with clay and small stones, leaving only a narrow 

 orifice for entrance. An extraordinary nest in the British Museum, 

 presented by Mr. F. Bond, was placed in the side of a haystack, and 

 measured thirteen inches by eight, the weight of the clay being 

 eleven pounds. Some distance inside the nest is a bed of dry leaves 

 or the scales of the Scotch fir, on which the eggs, 5-7, are deposited. 

 These are white, spotted with reddish-brown — larger and more 

 boldly blotched than those of the Great Titmouse : average measure- 

 ments 77 by "56 in. In spring the male utters a loud and shrill 

 iui-tui-tui ; the bird has also a bubbling or churring note. The 

 food during a portion of the year consists largely of hazel-nuts, which 

 the bird fixes in some crevice, and then proceeds to hammer with 

 its bill until the shell is broken, each stroke being delivered with the 

 full strength and weight of the body, working from the hip-joint ; 

 whence the names of Nuthatch, i.e., Nuthack, and Nutjobber. It 

 is partial to beech-mast, and will eat many kinds of hard seeds, with 

 acorns, and even corn in times of scarcity ; but during a considerable 

 portion of the year it feeds on insects, for which it searches on 

 trees and on the ground. At such times its motions resemble those 

 of a mouse rather than of a bird, being conducted upwards, side- 

 ways, or downwards with equal facility ; and it is stated on good 

 authority that, when sleeping, the head and back are downwards. 



Adult male : the upper parts generally of a bluish-slate colour ; 

 wing-quills greyish-brown ; centre tail-feathers slate-grey, the re- 

 mainder black at their bases, barred and tipped with white and 

 grey ; a black streak runs from tiie base of the bill through the eye 

 to the side of the neck ; above the eye a narrow white streak ; chin 

 and cheeks white ; throat and belly rich buff; flanks and under tail- 

 coverts streaked with dark chestnut ; bill horn-colour, lighter at the 

 base ; legs and feet brown. Length 5 '5 in. ; wing 3*4 in. The female 

 is rather duller in colour, and the young are conspicuously so. 



