THE NUTCEACKEE. 



407 



The small but handsome and striking bird which is popularly called the Nutcracker 

 Crow is extremely scarce in England, having but seldom been discovered upon the 

 British Islands. 



As it is so conspicuous a bird, it would not escape the notice of even the most careless 

 observer, and we may be sure that it has very seldom, if ever, visited England without its 

 arrival being duly noted. It is tolerably common in several parts of Europe, and has 

 been seen in Switzerland in large 

 flocks, feeding upon the seeds of 

 the pine-trees after the fashion 

 that has gained for tlie bird its 

 name of Nutcracker. This species 

 feeds mostly upon seeds, especially 

 those of the pine, the beech, and 

 various nuts, and it breaks the 

 hard shells by fixing the nut or 

 pine-cone in a convenient crevice, 

 and hammering with its beak 

 until it has exposed the kernel. 

 Indeed, while engaged in this 

 pursuit, its movements are almost 

 precisely those of the common 

 nuthatch. It is a rather shy and 

 suspicious bird, keeping closely to 

 the tops of trees, and mostly being 

 beyond the range of an ordinary 

 shot-gun. 



It does not, however, feed 

 whoUy on seeds, but varies its 

 diet with insect food, in pursuit 

 of which it ranges for a consider- 

 able distance over the country, 

 seeking the insects either on the 

 ground or on the trees — generally 

 the latter. 



By means of the powerful bill 

 and neck muscles, the Nutcracker 

 is able to dig out the large-bodied 

 grubs which are found deeply 

 buried in the wood of various 

 trees, and which it discovers 

 through its quick sense of sight 

 and hearing. 



The Nutcracker is common 

 in Southern Europe, and is also 

 a visitant of the more northern 

 regions of that continent, being 

 frequently seen in Norway, and 

 even migrating so far north as 

 the great pine-forests of Kussia, 



Siberia, and Kamtschatka. Sometimes the Nutcracker becomes carnivorous in its taste, 

 after the manner of the corvidae in general, and robs sitting birds of their eggs, or even 

 seizes and eats their callow young. It is a very active bird, traversing the branches 

 with great rapidity, and being able to climb the perpendicular trunk of a tree almost as 

 well as the creepers. That it frequently puts this accomplishment in practice is evident 

 from the fact that the tips of the tail-feathers are often found to be worn away, evidently 

 by the pressure which they have exerted against the rough bark of the trees. 



BALD CRO''^, — Plcathartes gymnoccphalus. 



