THE NUTHATCH 45, 
gravity thana fly. Arrived at the main stem it keeps on its course, still 
advancing by starts, and accompanying every movement, as, indeed, 
it has been doing all along, by an almost imperceptible twinkling of 
its wings, something like that which has gained for the Hedge 
Sparrow the sobriquet of ‘Shuffle-wing’. That no other bird but 
the Nuthatch has the power of creeping down a tree I cannot say, 
for I once observed a Tree-creeper descend for a few inches: but no 
other British bird does habitually hunt after this method; by 
this habit consequently it may be discriminated. Equally com- 
fortable in all positions, if it has any choice, or desires to rest, it 
clings to the upright trunk of a tree, head downwards. 
The Nuthatch is singular, too, in its mode of nidification. The 
only nest which I have thoroughly examined was built in the 
hollow of an apple-tree, and was composed entirely of scraps of 
birch-bark. The Naturalist contains a description of one made 
of beech-bark, though probably here, too, birch is meant ; others 
are described as being made of dry leaves and moss: but, what- 
ever the materials may be, the nest itself is invariably placed in 
the hole of a tree. There are good reasons for believing that in 
case of necessity the bird enlarges the cavity to make its dwelling 
sufficiently commodious, chips of wood having been sometimes 
found in the vicinity; but what makes the Nuthatch singular 
among British birds is, that it not only enacts the carpenter when 
occasion arises, but adds the vocation of plasterer. 
In the case above alluded to I do not know that its powers were 
called out in either of these capacities. As a plasterer it had no 
occasion to work, for the opening to the hole was so small that it 
required to be cut away in order to admit a boy’s hand, but many 
instances are recorded when it selected a hole with a large orifice 
which is contracted by lining it with a thick coat of mud and gravel. 
This parapet, constructed either to keep out bulky intruders or to 
keep in the young birds, if injured or destroyed will be found restored 
after a short lapse of time ; and so devoted a mother is the hen bird 
that she will suffer herself to be taken rather than desert her brood. 
I have rarely noticed a Nuthatch on the ground during winter, 
but in spring and summer it adds to its diet terrestrial insects and 
worms and is said also to be partial to red currants—not a singular 
taste. But the fruit which has an especial charm for the Nuthatch 
is that from which it derives its name.1 Its keen eye detects the 
ripening filbert in the garden or orchard before the hazels in the 
wood are beginning to turn brown, and it then despises less dainty 
food. One by one the clusters are pecked open and their contents 
purloined, carried, perhaps, tosome convenient storehouse for future 
banquetings. At any rate the owner of filbert trees where these 
birds abound has need to keep a daily watch, or his share in the 
1 From the French hacher, ‘ to chop’ ; hence also ‘ hatchet ’. 
