56 The Naturalist in Siluria. 



of all the above, it is a remarkably bandsome bird when 

 in perfect plumage, which, though neither so brilliant as 

 that of the Jay or Green Woodpecker, is nevertheless 

 aught but sombre, A specimen (stuffed) I have before 

 me, which was shot in my orchard last winter, shows the 

 back and upper parts of the body of a light slate blue, 

 the breast, belly, and under parts a bright though delicate 

 buff j while the under tail inverts, and feathers around the 

 vent, are a rich ferruginous red. 



Still more interesting are the habits of the Nuthatch, 

 so widely differing from those of our other Aves. Its 

 being able to run up the trunk of a tree shows relation- 

 ship with the genera Yunx, Picus, and Certhia. But it 

 is a better climber than any of these, the last, perhaps, 

 excepted, — since it can run down as well as up, and this 

 notwithstanding that it lacks the stiff supporting tail 

 feathers, which the creepers and woodpeckers have. Like 

 the wryneck, it has no prehensile power in its tail. 



The name Nuthatch, synonym of nut-hack or nut-hacker, 

 is perfectly appropriate. Some days ago one was seen 

 in my orchard on a large limb of a Bon- Chretien, pear 

 tree, busily jobbing away at something on thebranch 

 before it. The strokes were delivered in rapid repetition, 

 and so loudly as to be audible at more than a hundred 

 yards distance. Thus occupied, it permitted near ap- 

 proach ; so near, the observer had no difficulty in noting 

 every movement. He could see that the beak was driven 

 down, with the head at times held a little sideways, while 

 at each dig there was a muscular straining of the legs, as 

 if to give better force to the blow. After a time it flew 

 off, bearing between its mandibles what looked like a 

 piece of bark ; but it was more probably the kernel of a 

 nut, or some other edible substance. On the observer 



