THE NUTHATCH. 



349 



a human being, it will either fly oflT to a distant tree, or will qu-ietly slip 

 round the trunk of the tree on which it is running and keep itself care- 

 fully out of sight. It soon, however, gains confidence, and, provided 

 that the spectator remains perfectly quiet, the little head and white 

 breast may soon be seen peering anxi(jusly round the trunk, and in a 

 few minutes the bird will resume its progress upon the tree, and run 

 cheerily up the bark, accompanying itself with its faint trilling song. 

 It seldom attempts a long flight, seeming to content itself with flitting 

 from tree to tree. 



The nest of the Creeper is usually made in the hollow of some decay- 

 ing tree, and is composed of grasses, leaves, and vegetable fibres, and 

 lined with feathers. The eggs are very small, about seven or eight in 

 number, and of an ashen-gray color, sprinkled with little gray-brown 

 spots. Sometimes it builds in the hole of an old wall, and has been 

 known to make its nest in a disused spout. 



The Nuthatches are represented in England by the common Nut- 

 hatch of the woods. They are 

 all remarkable for their pecu- 

 liarly stout and sturdy build, 

 their strong, pointed, cylindri- 

 cal beaks, and their very short 

 •tails. 



The Nuthatch, although by no 

 means a rare bird, is seldom seen 

 except by those who are ac- 

 quainted with its haunts, on ac- 

 count of its shy and retiring 

 habits. As it feeds mostly on 

 nuts, it is seldom seen except in 

 woods or their immediate vicin- 

 ity, although it will sometimes 

 become rather bold, and frequent 

 gardens and orchards where nuts 

 are grown. The bird also feeds 

 upon insects, which it procures 

 from under the bark after the 

 manner of the creepers, and it 

 is not unlikely that many of 

 the nuts wdiich are eaten by the 

 Nuthatch have been inhabited 

 by the grub of the nut weevil. 

 It will also feed upon the seeds 

 of different plants, especially preferring those which it pecks ofl' the 

 fir-cones. 



30 



The N uthatch [Sitta Europcea). 



