218 THE NUTHATCH 



one bird immediately departed, while the others flew to a tall tree 

 and began a game of hide-and-seek with each other varied by intervals 

 of hunting for food, the male all the time uttering a soft musical 

 " tioi, twi, tm" flute-like and sweet to the ear. 



Like many other species the nuthatch has a love flight. This, as 

 described by Naumann, takes the form of a descent from the top of a 

 high tree to that of a lower in a straight line, with wings and tail out- 

 stretched and body feathers puffed out, a proceeding which gives him 

 a gay and ruffling but somewhat eccentric appearance. This display 

 is frequently to be seen early in the year. But the love flight is some- 

 times taken together. Instead of wandering through the woods hand 

 in hand after the manner of human beings when similarly " possessed," 

 fondly imagining themselves to be alone, although the cynosure of 

 hundreds of bright eyes, small birds like the nuthatch mount up and 

 up into the sky as far as the eye can follow, and indulge in ecstatic 

 raptures there under the boundless blue sky, before suddenly dropping 

 to earth and taking up the real burden of life. On other occasions 

 the male may be seen strutting along a branch, spreading his tail so 

 that the white spots appear, and shivering his wings in such a manner 

 that the rich chestnut of the flanks is brought into view. 



Nuthatches begin to nest about the middle of April, selecting for 

 their nursery a suitable hole in a wall or tree ; often the limb of a tree 

 is chosen in preference to the trunk itself. However large the original 

 hole may have been, it is usually plastered up with mud till only just 

 the size of the bird's body. The clay for this purpose is manufactured 

 by the builders themselves, hence their local name of " mud-dabbers." 

 If a portion breaks away during the nesting season, the breach is 

 at once repaired. Dr. Kelso told me that he once repaired a tiny 

 breach which he had made in the mud surrounding a nuthatch's 

 nesting-hole, while the birds looked on. Immediately on his with- 

 drawal however, they tore down his handiwork which was evidently 

 not to their liking, and carefully mended the gap themselves. 



Some years ago there was an account in the Zoologist of a nest 



