38 Forest Birds. 



lovely a bluish grey on the back and upper side of 

 the wings, and buff on the breast, shading to a bright 

 chestnut on the under tail coverts, the upper and 

 under parts thus forming a beautiful contrast in 

 colour. The throat is silvery white, and a black line 

 of feathers, very similar to the " moustache " of the 

 woodpecker, runs from the base of the upper 

 mandible through the eye to the bird's shoulder. 

 The Nuthatch is not a good musician, and indeed 



FIG. 12. 



Head of Nuthatch, showing strong, sharp bill. 

 From nature. Natural size. 



it is always so much occupied, that it does not seem 

 to have time to sing. As it climbs, however, it 

 utters several different call notes, the chief of which 

 is very shrill and piercing, and when once heard will 

 not be easily forgotten. The syllable "twhit" 

 whistled quickly in a loud, high-pitched tone, much 

 resembles this call note, which is usually repeated 

 from four to six times. Another note, not so often 

 used, sounds like "twe-twhit," the first syllable being 



