NUTHATCH. 475 



other hard seeds, such as those of the yew or fir, and even 

 cherry-stones, in like manner; but beech-mast give the 

 least trouble, and in seasons when they are plentiful the 

 Nuthatch fares well. Acorns are sometimes but not often 

 used, and in times of scarcity it will feed on corn. All these 

 vegetable products, however, form its chief diet for part of 

 the year only; during the remainder it is unremitting in its 

 search for insects, alike on the boles and the boughs of trees, 

 while it may be occasionally seen on the ground turning over 

 dead leaves for the prey lurking beneath them. 



The call of the Nuthatch is a loud double note, "twi-twit, 

 twi-twit," frequently repeated; but it varies in tone with the 

 season, and in spring the cock has a prolonged, shrill whistle, 

 which, once heard, cannot be mistaken, though it is impos- 

 sible to describe. This is continued until the young are 

 hatched, when the parents become silent, or only utter an 

 occasional cry as the family party busily explore their ances- 

 tral trees. 



The Nuthatch almost always makes its nest in the hollow 

 branch of a tree, plastering up the opening with clay, so as 

 to leave a circular hole only just large enough to afford 

 entrance and exit *. The clay is often brought from a dis- 

 tance, and being possibly tempered with the bird's saliva, 

 soon hardens so as to withstand rain and sun. If this bar- 

 ricade be destroyed while there are eggs in the nest, it is 

 speedily rebuilt. A passage of some length leads to a 

 chamber, bedded sometimes with dry leaves but oftener with 

 filmy flakes of the inner bark of a fir or cedar, to gather 

 which the birds will make distant journeys. Here the eggs, 

 from five to seven in number, are laid. They are white, 



* As singular deviations from the Nuthatch's usual choice of a site for its 

 nest may be mentioned, first, the case communicated to Mr. Hewitson by Mr. 

 A. C. Smith, in which a pair for many years occupied a hole in a wall caused by 

 the omission of a brick. This large aperture they filled with clay and small 

 stones, leaving a small orifice by which to enter ; secondly, the more extraordinary 

 nest, described by Mr. Bond (Zool. s. s. p. 2850) as placed in the side of a hay- 

 stack, where the mass of clay weighed no less than eleven pounds, and measured 

 thirteen inches by eight. The Editor has seen both these structures, the latter 

 of which is in the British Museum. 



