THE O. & O. SEMI-ANNUAL. 41 
She first carries in a lot of fine material with which she builds the 
outside of her nest, and afterwards lines the inside with mouse-hair 
and a few feathers, which makes a fine, soft bed on which to deposit 
‘her eggs. The nest now being completed, she begins to carry in a 
lot of coarse material and covers up her nest to quite a depth. This 
being done, she now begins to deposit her eggs, but how she manages 
to get under this pile of debris to her nest proper is more than I can 
tell. But she gets there, and lays an egg each day until she gets a 
full set, which is usually from six to ten. 
Up to this time her eggs are entirely concealed, and many a col- 
lector who does not know the habits of the Nuthatch has thrust his 
hand into a cavity, and finding nothing but a lot of coarse material, 
has concluded there was nothing there, when if he had dug down a 
little he would have found a fine set of eggs ; and now when she is 
ready to incubate she carries out all of this coarse material and leaves 
nothing but her nest proper, and uses no more covering for her eggs 
during the entire time of incubation. 
The male bird keeps himself in close attendance while the female 
is setting, and his greatest pleasure seems to be in carrying to her all 
the choice morsels of food that he can find until the young are hatched, 
when both labor together in furnishing food for their young, and thus 
it is that nature has endowed to each and every kind of birds habits 
peculiar to themselves, which makes ornithology and oology inter- 
esting and never ending studies. 
