2850 The Zoologist — November, 1871. 



Iris dark, with bluish tinge ; beak pale horn, darker on upper mandible, 

 lower mandible suffused with a pinkish flesh hue; legs and toes pale 

 pinkish flesh ; claws pale brown. 



Inches. 

 Total length ....... 9| 



Extent of ^vings - - . . . . - 16 



Wing, carpal joint to tip - - - . . . 5 J 



Bill, along the ridge of upper mandible . . . . j 



Tail Si 



Tibia 1| 



Tarsus ........ is 



T9 



Middle toe and claw - - - . . . - li 



Outer ,,-.-.... I 



Inner „ ....... i 



Hinder „--..... l 



Weight, 2J ounces. 



The stomach was full of the remaius of some small Coleoptera. The bird 

 was in good plumage and rather fat, and must be at least three years old. — 

 T. E. Gtmn. 



Siugiilar nesting of the Nuthatch at East Grinstead, Sussex.— It is 

 generally believed that this bird usually builds in boles of ti'ees and walls, 

 and if the aperture is too large reduces it by i:)lastcring it up with mud or 

 clay, leaving a small hole for entrance or egress. A curious variation from 

 this habit was brought to my notice by Mr. May, of East Grinstead, who 

 kindly brought to me the nest as cut from the haystack. The mass of clay 

 used in forming the front of the nest weighed no less than eleven pounds 

 when fii-st cut out of the stack. The shape of the mass is somewhat 

 irregular, being somewhat of the shape of a shoulder of mutton with the 

 knuckle cut off; the length is thirteen inches; width of the widest part, 

 which is at the upper end, eight inches ; at the lower end four inches ; the 

 greatest thickness is at the bottom, which is four inches ; the upper part 

 two inches. The following is a copy of the letter I received from Mr. May 

 in answer to some inquiries I made of him : — 



" East Grinstead, 1871. 



" Sir, — The height of the nest from the ground was between five and 

 six feet ; the hning was composed of dead leaves only (enclosed are a few 

 which fell from the nest during the packing). The birds were observed 

 pulling the hay from the stack till they had formed a large opening before 

 they commenced building with mud, which they had to carry about 150 yards, 

 that being the nearest point they could obtain it from. My informants (two 

 men working on the farm) say that they (the birds) were building for a very 

 long time, — quite six weeks or two months, — and they could not understand 

 what the birds were plastering a lot of mud on the stack for. 



" Yours, &c., 



" F. Bond, Esq." " Wm. May. 



