AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 51 



These birds have another habit that is worth mentioning. Having 

 found a larger supply of food than they require for their immediate use, 

 they carry morsels away and jam them into all sorts of holes and cran- 

 nies in the bark of the trees. I have watched a pair for an hour dili- 

 gently laying by a store of sunflower seeds, which they had found at 

 the edge of the woods. They do not store a quantity of provision in 

 one place like the squirrels, but deposit a tidbit here and theie, wedg- 

 ing it tightly into a crevice by hammering it with their stout bills Of 

 course, the Woodpeckers and Tomtits secure many of these half-hid- 

 den goodies, but Master Nuthatch does not mind that, for he evens up 

 the theft by appropriating their stores when he finds them. The motto, 

 *'A11 that I find is mine," is obviously in accord with the ethical code 

 of the bird world. For two winters a Nuthatch remained in the vicin- 

 ity of my house, coming almost daily to dine at the outdoor table I 

 spread for my feathered visitors; but the third winter he did not once 

 appear, and no other member of the family came to take his place at 

 the birds' banquet. Mayhap he met with disaster, and left no last will 

 and testament to any of his relatives. 



The white-breasted Nuthatch may be known by his fiat body and 

 broad shoulders, his bluish-gray coat, black cap and mantle (all in one 

 piece,) white tie, shirt bosom and vest, with a few rufous decorations 

 on the belly and under tail-coverts. The following quotations from 

 Wilson are given as much for the vivacious manner in which the story 

 is told as for the story itself: 



"The male is extremely attentive to the female while sitting, sup- 

 plying her regularly with sustenance, stopping frequently at the mouth 

 of the hole, calling and offering her what he has brought, in the most 

 endearing manner. Sometimes he seems to stop merely to inquire 

 how she is, and to lighten the tedious moments with his soothing chat- 

 ter. He seldom rambles far from the spot, and when danger appears, 

 regardless of his own safety, he- flies instantly to alarm her. When 

 both are feeding on the trunk of the same tree, or of adjoining ones, 

 he is perpetually calling on her; and from the momentary pause he 

 makes, it is plain he feels pleased to hear her reply. 



"He rests and roosts with his head downwards; and appears to pos" 

 sess a degree of curiosity not common in many birds; frequently de- 

 scending, very silently, within a few feet of the root of the tree where 

 you happen to stand, stopping, head downward, stretching out his neck 

 in a horizontal direction, as if to reconnoiter your appearance, and after 

 several minutes of silent observation, wheeling around, he again 

 mounts, with fresh activity, piping his unisons as before. . . . Some- 



