THE NUTHATCH. 263 



It sought them also about the ceiling and walls, and found 

 many. It continued all day, without intermission, at this 

 employment, and on an average caught something every 

 minute. " We may,'* says the writer, " thus form some 

 idea of the immense number of insects destroyed by this and 

 similar birds, bearing especially in mind, that this was in a 

 room where the human eye could scarcely recognise a dozen 

 insects altogether, and that in the open air insects would, 

 doubtless, be much more numerous. Though so actively 

 engaged in its own occupation, it seemed to care little for the 

 presence of a spectator ; for it sometimes alighted on either 

 my head, my shoulders, or fingers ; and when settling, would 

 permit me at any time to put my hand upon it and take it 

 up, though when in my hand it would struggle to get away. 

 It seemed likely to live and thrive, when unfortunately, on 

 settling in front of a dove-cage in the room, one of the doves 

 thrust its head through the wires, and struck it forcibly 

 with its beak. At first the poor little bird did not appear 

 to suffer from the blow, but it never flew again ; and about 

 an hour afterwards, on my taking it up in my hand and 

 throwing it up, it could only flutter to the ground ; and on 

 my laying it on the table, it stretched out its little feet, 

 shivered, and died." 



In walking through woods, a rapping sort of noise may be 

 frequently heard high up in the trees ; and though the hearer 

 feels pretty confident that he is within a few yards of the 

 spot from whence this rap, rap, rap, proceeds, he may fail in 

 finding out the cause ; but if he has a keen eye, he may at 

 last perceive a small greyish blue-backed bird with a yellowish 

 breast, busily employed, knocking away with the full force of 

 its head, beak, and body, as if the whole were one solid mass, 

 moving on the hinges of its thigh-bones. After a while, the 

 bird will be seen to glide, rather than climb, up or round the 

 stem, and disappear, till it is again detected by a repetition of 

 the rap, rap, rap. It is the Nuthatch, in the act of examining 

 trees for insects, or engaged in hammering nuts to pieces, 

 which it first adroitly fixes in a crevice of the bark, and when 

 the shell is broken, eats the kernel. Should the nut acci- 



