THE BIRD-LIFE OF LONDON 
perhaps not at all suitable to its requirements, where 
it will linger for a time. Parks full of old timber are 
the favourite haunt of the Nuthatch; orchards and less 
frequently large gardens are others. Although the tail- 
feathers are normal and soft the bird climbs about the 
trunks and larger limbs with perfect ease, and like the 
Woodpeckers taps the bark, and can break into a nut 
skilfully with its powerful, chisel-like bill. In two 
respects the Nuthatch is somewhat of an anomaly: he 
climbs with a soft tail, and has a bill like a Woodpecker, 
the latter structura. peculiarity being no indication of 
affinity with that bird, but only the result of similarity in 
obtaining food. Although an expert climber, the Nut- 
hatch by no means confines itself to the trunks and 
larger branches, where it creeps about in every possible 
manner ; it also frequents the slenderer boughs and twigs, 
and I have seen it clinging to the extremities of drooping 
ones, swinging like a pendulum whilst twisting off the 
fat farinaceous buds. ‘The food of this species consists of 
insects, and larvz also, as well as nuts—which are usually 
placed in some chink and chipped open with the bill—and 
various kinds of berries. It 1s somewhat solitary in habit, 
although paired for life, and frequently breeds in one spot 
foryears. It hasnosong, but often betrays its presence by 
its vigorous tapping, and its call is a loud, musical whit. 
The Nuthatch probably rears more than one brood in the 
year, as eggs may be found as early as April and as late as 
July. The usual site for the nest is in a hole in the timber, 
less frequently in a wall or a haystack. ‘The hole, which 
varies in depth from a few inches to a foot or more, is 
sometimes enlarged by the bird itself, and the entrance is 
invariably plastered up with clay, leaving an aperture 
just large enough for ingress, the amount of this material 
varying according to the size of the hole selected. At the 
bottom a slight nest of dry leaves and flakes of bark, 
sometimes a little dry grass, is formed, and here the six 
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