VOL. XIV.] NOTES ON NESTING OF NUTHATCH. 105 



four inches long ; they were by no means selected at haphazard, 

 and, unlike the thoughtless Jackdaw [Colceus monedula), 

 the Xiithatch invariably held them by one end in the same 

 line with its body, so that they could be inserted into the 

 hole without difficulty. At a later stage the finer inside 

 bark of pines was chiefly used, but a yew close at hand was 

 also frequently visited despite the protests of some Chaffinches 

 nesting in it. Roughly speaking, three weeks were occupied 

 in constant work, and then 8 eggs were laid. Actually only 

 one hatched out, one of the eggs having the yolk dried up 

 and rattling about in it like a pea. After frequent inspections 

 the slate roof was plastered down from the inside. The 

 parents, curiously enough, were observed to secrete bread 

 and other food in crevices of the bark even while they were 

 busy providing for their nestling. Miss Turner has thro'\\Ti 

 some doubt on the storing habit of these birds, but I have 

 observed it again and again, and less frequently in the case 

 of the Coal Tit {P. aier). After the young one flew (June ist) 

 I CcU-efully emptied the nest and expended some hours count- 

 ing the separate pieces of bark. In ah, the materials weighed 

 just 31 ounces and there were 13,300 bits of bark (including 

 about 400 chips of wood and 100 dry ilex leaves). It is 

 probable, of course, that the number was increased by brittle 

 portions breaking off under the process of attrition, but 

 against this it was impossible to clean the box completely 

 out, and many flimsy bits must have stuck together in the 

 counting. The most liberal allowance for error would leave 

 at least the prodigious amount of 10,000, and in the earlier 

 stages it was unusual for more than one bit to be brought 

 at a time. 



Finally, I have seen the Nutnatch catch an insect on the 

 wing ; I have seen it catch a nut which it had accidentally 

 dislodged from the crevice where it was being hammered ; 

 I have seen it stand on the edge of a jam jar and drink the 

 water supplied for poultry ; and I have seen it hop with 

 extraordinary rapidity after a nut which I threw along the 

 terrace and overtake it before it stopped rolling. I can 

 well understand that it is easily tamed. 



