44 THE NUTHATCH 



FAMILY SITTID.E 

 THE NUTHATCH 



SITTA C^SIA 



Upper plumage bluish grey; a black streak across the eye; cheeks and throat 

 white ; under plumage dull orange red ; outer tail-feathers black, with 

 a white spot near the end, tipped with grey, the two central ones grey j 

 beak bluish black, the lower mandible white at the base ; feet light brown. 

 Length six inches. Eggs white, spotted with two shades of purplish red. 



Standing, one winter's day, by the side of a pond, near a row of 

 tall elms, and watching some boys sliding, I heard the few short 

 twittering notes of a Nuthatch overhead, and it at once occurred 

 to me how I should describe the note in such a way that it should 

 be infallibly recognized. It is precisely like the sound made by a 

 pebble thrown so as to bound along ice. This is the winter note. 

 On fine sunny days in February it begins to add to its simple call 

 a more musical sound, approaching a whistle. Further on in the 

 season, the twitter is heard no more, and is exchanged altogether for 

 a not unmelodious whistle, several times repeated, rarely protracted 

 into a bubbling sound, such as it might be supposed to make if it 

 were rattling a pea in its throat. On these occasions it is usually 

 perched in the branches of a tree, and may be distinguished by its 

 bluish grey back, dull red breast, and short tail. The Nuthatch is 

 not an accomplished musician, and claims, therefore, to be pointed 

 out by other characteristics. This is no difficult task to undertake ; 

 for no British bird is more decidedly marked in its habits. In the 

 first place, it has strong clasping claws, which admirably adapt it for 

 climbing ; and though it does not possess the rigid tail of the Wood- 

 peckers to aid it in this operation, it has a short tail which never 

 comes in the way. In most counties of England where old timber 

 is (except the extreme western and northern, where it is rare) any 

 one walking through a woodland district and keeping a sharp look- 

 out may observe a bluish bird, somewhat larger than a Sparrow, 

 creeping by starts up the trunk of any rough barked tree. It is so 

 intent on its occupation — that of searching for insects in the 

 crevices of the bark — that it takes no notice of the observer, but 

 pursues its course after a method of its own, but according to no rule 

 that we can detect. Now it disappears on one side of the trunk 

 and then shows itself a few inches higher on the other ; now it is 

 lost to sight for a longer interval — one would think it was hiding, or 

 had taken its departure — but no, there it is again, creeping, back 

 downwards, along a horizontal branch ; arrived at the extremity 

 it utters a double twitter, perhaps, and flies either to a new tree or 

 to another branch of the same. This time it creeps from the 

 extremity of a branch towards the bole of the tree, equally at ease 

 whatever may chance to be its position, and no more affected by 



