1 66 The Nuthatch. 



under tail-coverts, the centre of the latter being whitisli ; bill leaden- grej', the 

 lower mandible paler, but especially at the base ; feet brown ; iris hazel. 



The female is a little duller than the male, the chestnut on the flanks being 

 less pronounced ; the young are still duller, and paler on the flanks. 



Restless, indefatigable, quick in its actions, the Nuthatch may be seen running 

 upwards or downwards like a mouse over the rugged trunks of lofty trees, frequently 

 travelling in jerky zigzag fashion, searching in every crack and cranny for insect 

 food ; yet, unlike orthodox good children, the Nuthatch is much more frequently' 

 heard than seen, for it is of a very modest and retiring disposition. 



Stevenson observes respecting this species : — ■" much amusement has been 

 afforded me, after discovering their haunts, by placing nuts, or their kernels only, 

 in such situations as would enable me to watch the actions of these birds. In 

 confinement the young become very tame, and from their activity and quaintness 

 in every movement are most engaging pets, but sadly destructive to any woodwork 

 within their reach. If constantly' supplied with fresh bark, the}' never tire of 

 searching each corner and crevice for insect food, clinging to it in every imagin- 

 able attitude with their strong claws whilst beating all the while with their beaks 

 a very ' devil's tattoo,' unpleasantly suggestive, in its persistent monotony, of the 

 busiest moments of a coffin-maker." 



The Nuthatch is one of our early breeders, usually commencing to build 

 about the middle of April ; the site chosen is most frequently a hole in a tree, 

 generally in a branch, but sometimes close to the ground; a hole in a wall is not 

 infrequently chosen, and rarely in the side of a haystack ; the single recorded nest 

 of this type in the British Museum having been mentioned by almost every writer 

 on British Birds, on account apparently of its weight : the entrance to the hole, 

 in which the apology for a nest is placed, being always filled up with cla}- until 

 only a small aperture is left for the passage of the birds in and out. Lord Lilford 

 speaks of their using also old mortar or cement, which they must somehow have 

 managed to moisten and render serviceable ; possibly they mixed it with wet clay. 



The nest itself consists merely of a few leaves, often of oak ; a few scales of 

 fir-bark ; or a little dry grass ; at some distance from the entrance to the hole. 

 The eggs, which vary in number from five to eight, very closely resemble those 

 of the Great Tit, but are larger and frequently with deeper red-brown spots, bolder 

 in character and intermixed with lavender or greyish shell-spots : the different 

 forms of the egg are just what one finds among the Tits, the spots larger or 

 smaller, evenly distributed, massed in a zone near the larger end, or forming an 

 irregular patch at that end. 



The song of the Nuthatch consists of a prolonged soft whistle, followed by a 



