THE NUTHATCH 195 



ing. The shells of nuts, each with a hole drilled 

 in it, will be found edged in between the crevices 

 of the bark, which the bird utilizes as a vice to 

 hold the nuts, which it pierces with its beak. The 

 power possessed by so small a bird is extra- 

 ordinary. I have often examined these empty 

 shells, many of them being of great thickness, 

 and bearing witness to the marvellous strength 

 of the little workman which had pierced them, 

 and the shape and temper of the tool it had used 

 for the purpose. Although the vocal powers of 

 the nuthatch are by no means considerable, still, 

 at times, more especially in the spring and summer, 

 it is able to offer something in the way of a song, 

 by no means unmelodious, though rather par- 

 taking of the monotony of a Gregorian chant. 

 The musical powers and talent of the creeper are, 

 however, conspicuous by their absence. 



The names of birds are often confusing and 

 misleading to the uninitiated. Thus, the stone- 

 chat is at times confounded with the whinchat or 

 furzechat. It would have been far better if the 

 name of stone-clink, sometimes applied to the 

 former bird, were generally adopted, and it is 

 also a more suitable name, its note being very 

 similar to the sound produced by striking two 

 flint stones together. The two birds are not, 

 except as regards their size, in any respects alike, 

 though both frequent those districts where gorse- 

 bushes are abundant. There is, however, some 

 similarity between the whinchat and the wheat- 



