PASSERINE. TENUIROSTRES. 277 



away to the base of another tree, which they ascend 

 as before. The tail is not used to support the body 

 in a perpendicular attitude. The species are usually 

 small, but of untiring activity ; possessing great cu- 

 riosity, exercised, however, with amusing caution, 

 the bird endeavouring to keep the tree between 

 himself and the intruder whom he stretches out 

 his head to reconnoitre. Their voice is loud and 

 startling. The Common Nuthatch of our own country 

 (Sitta Europcea) will sufficiently illustrate the genus. 

 A correspondent of London's Magazine of Natu- 

 ral History has given the following amusing sketch 

 of an individual which fell into his possession : "I 

 had never seen the little bird called the Nuthatch, 

 when one day when I was expecting the transit of 

 some wood-pigeons under a birch tree, with my gun 

 in my hand, I observed a little ash-coloured bird 

 squat himself on one of the large lateral trunks over 

 my head, and, after some observation, begin to tap 

 loudly or rather solidly upon the wood, and then 

 proceed round and round the branch, it being clearly 

 the same thing to him, whether his nadir or zenith 

 were uppermost. I shot, and the bird fell; there 

 was a lofty hedge between us, and when I got over 

 he had removed himself. It was some time before 

 I secured him ; and I mention this because the 

 manner in which he eluded me was characteristic of 

 his cunning. He concealed himself in holes at the 

 bottom of a ditch, so long as he heard the noise of 

 motion ; and when all was still, he would scud out 

 and attempt to escape. A wing was broken, and I 



