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a north-easter is blowing, these birds are found feeding on the beeches, chestnuts, and pjnes 
which grow on the south side. I know of no birds whose habits and manners are so operated 
upon by the movement of the wind. Whether this arises from their being so much exposed to 
the weather, in consequence of their being almost constantly on the bark of trees at all seasons of 
the year, I cannot say. The Nuthatch searches the bark like the Creeper, but without deriving 
aid from its tail, and is able to descend with as much ease as it climbs. You see it now ascending 
spirally the bole of an oak, then creeping horizontally along an arm, now above, now beneath, 
and again hanging like a Tit, as it gains the thickened foliage, to examine every crevice of the 
bark, and the young buds. It proceeds by short leaps, jerks, or notches, and during its progress 
droops its wings somewhat after the manner of the Hedge-Sparrow. At this season (November) 
it generally keeps toward the middle and topmost branches of the trees it inhabits; but as the 
spring advances it not only feeds lower down on the bark, but may then be observed occasionally 
betaking itself to the ground. The note in spring is quite different, having in the vernal months 
a soft flute-like sound, which it gets in February, but somewhat earlier or later according to the 
nature of the season. The flight of the Nuthatch is very short, and in fact is only made from one 
tree to another, or from branch to branch. When the bird is flying, it moves its wings very 
rapidly ; and during these short flights its course is not undulating. In its mode of flying it 
bears a great resemblance to the Wren. The pair which I have forwarded for your inspection 
were shot from the bark of an oak. You may fire several times into the same tree without 
causing the birds (which at this season are in families) to leave it, although one or two should be 
killed. When these were obtained, four shots were fired, yet all this cannonading did not drive 
off the other four birds, which remained until we departed. In the stomach of these individuals 
I found fragments of small coleoptera, several small white pup contained in very hard elliptical 
shells, some farinaceous-looking matter in small pieces or chips, a few husks of grasses, and several 
particles of quartz, the largest two twelfths of an inch in their greatest diameter. The figure and 
description of the alimentary canal is taken from one of these specimens, a male, as are the mea- 
surements of the bill, feet, and other parts.” 
This Nuthatch is met with during the breeding-season in Great Britain and throughout 
Germany, France, and to the south into Greece, where, according to Lindermayer, it is resident 
im the northern parts of the country. I myself met with large numbers of this Nuthatch 
breeding in the oak-woods at Iovetz, below Orsova, on the Danube, and obtained quite a number 
of their eggs in one day. Taking a couple of young Wallack peasant lads with me for a day’s 
birds’ nesting in the spring of 1866, I was told by them that the most numerous species would 
be this Nuthatch; and this certainly was the case, as a nest was found almost every hundred 
yards. The lads had a very ingenious mode of getting up to the nests. A long, straight, and 
slender sapling with as many branches as possible on it was selected, cut down and trimmed, the 
branches being cut off to within about four inches of the main stem, and either a strong branch 
left long at the foot, or a stout crook lashed on. ‘This pole was either placed against a tree and 
used as a ladder, the branches acting as steps, or else it was hooked on to a branch and used as 
a hanging ladder, and, when mounted, was again hooked on to another higher branch; and thus 
in a very short time the lads would reach the top of the tallest trees. I used this primitive 
ladder, and found it most useful. Some of the nests found were in quite large holes, the birds 
