OTES 



NUTHATCH'S NEST IN A HAYSTACK. 



Mb. Howard Saunders, in his Manual, records a nest of 

 the Nuthatch which was placed in the side of a haystack. 

 The nest measured 13 inches by 8, the weight of clay being 

 11 pounds. This nest was presented to the British Museum 

 by the late Mr. F. Bond. I am indebted to Miss Luck, of 

 Wadhurst, for the following particulars of a nest built in a 

 similar position at The Olives, Wadhurst, Sussex, in 1914. 

 This nest had a length of 13 inches ; the breadth was 



NUTHATCH'S NEST IN A HAYSTACK AT WADHURST, SUSSEX. 



7 inches, but this was subsequently increased to 9J inches. 

 The nest weighed 6| pounds. All the walls of the nest 

 might be said to be made of clay, but in places the clay 

 was not very solid. The cavity was lined in the usual way 

 with scales of bark, and four eggs were laid. Two of these 

 were taken, but the remaining two hatched out and the 

 young birds flew in due course. 



During and after the construction of the nest. Starlings were 

 most troublesome in their efforts to obtain possession. They 

 succeeded in making an excavation behind the thick layer 

 of plaster. To prevent the Starlings from using this cavity, 



