126 ITS ACTIONS AND HABITS. 



it perforates the shell, pivoting itself on its legs, and jerk- 

 ing its whole body forwards. All its actions are abrupt 

 and lively; it climbs by short jerks, perches with care on 

 the twigs, throws itself into various postures, and is often 

 seen with its head downwards, in which position it is even 

 said at times to sleep. Its flight is rapid, protracted on 

 occasion, but usually short. It has no song, being fur- 

 nished with only a single pair of inferior laryngeal muscles, 

 but utters a shrill cry at intervals.' * In the winter,' reports 

 Mr. Stanley, ' it is not quite mute, but has a small piping 

 note, not unlike that of the Creeper. This is a call-com- 

 pany note, inasmuch as the Nuthatch in winter feeds in 

 little companies or families of four or six individuals. 

 Another observer says : ' During the winter it was very 

 shy, and as far as my observation went, quite silent. By 

 the 10th of April, and before, it had become, I think, less 

 shy, and rather frequently uttered one or the other of its 

 two notes : these are a short broken twitting, and a short, 

 modulated, yet mellow-toned whistle.' And yet another 

 states, ' it has only a few short notes, one of them pecu- 

 liar, and so loud that it may be heard to a considerable 

 distance.' 



It has been observed by several, that the bird ascends 

 the trunk of a tree in a spiral or zigzag manner, which it is 

 presumed is less for the purpose of making its ascent more 

 easy, than for that of enlarging its field of search. The 

 Rev. W. T. Brice, in * London's Magazine,' observes, that 

 4 during the operation of nutcracking, it sometimes happens 

 that the nut swerves from its fixture, and falls towards the 

 ground. It has not descended, however, for the space of 

 more than a few yards, when the Nuthatch, with admirable 

 adroitness, recovers it in its fall, and, replacing it in its 

 former position, commences the attack afresh. The fall of 

 the nut in the air, and its recovery by the bird on the 

 wing, I have seen repeated several times in the space of a 

 few minutes.' 



In a state of captivity the Nuthatch is fed on hempseed, 

 barley, and nuts, all of which it cracks, or splits with its 

 bill. Its activity, cunning, and drollery render it an 

 agreeable pet ; but it must be kept in a cage entirely of 



