4o6 



British Cage Birds. 



Methods of Capture. — The Nuthatcii may be caught by 

 placing limed twigs about the branches of the trees they usually 

 haunt ; or they may be taken in a spring box trap, baited with 

 oats or nut kernels, in winter time, when they visit orchards 

 and gardens, and come about stables and farm buildings for 

 shelter and protection. 



Food and Treatment. — In a natural state, Nuthatches feed 

 on various kinds of insects and nuts. They hunt for the 

 former in trees in a similar manner to the Tits, and are 

 excellent climbers. They eat caterpillars and small beetles 

 also. In winter time, they feed in small groups (probably 

 the members of one family), and exist principally at that 

 time on acorns, chestnuts, beech and hazel nuts ; when these 

 are not obtainable they resort to grain, preferring oats. In 

 confinement, they may be fed on caterpillars, ground beetles, 

 mealworms, and the Compounds No. 1 and No. 2 {vide pp. 189 

 and 190). They will eat bread and milk, with a sprinkling 

 of maw seed or ants' eggs mixed with it. They may have, 

 for a change, a mixture of crushed hemp seed and groats. 

 They are very destructive birds, and require to be kept in 

 cages made of zinc, or tin and wire. They do not sleep on 

 perches, and ought to be provided with cocoanut husks for 

 this purpose, or a small box nest {vide Fig. 13, page 40), 

 Do not give more food to them than is necessary for one 

 or two meals, as they endeavour to hide what they can- 

 not consume, and by this means frequently waste more than 

 they eat. 



Rearing the Young. — The young should be obtained when 

 about twelve days old, and may be reared on bread and milk, 

 mixed, with a little fine oatmeal, into a soft paste. When they 

 attain the age of eighteen or twenty days, a small portion of 

 the Compound No. 1 {vide p. 189) may be mixed with this 

 food, and when they are a month old add a small quantity 

 of crushed hemp or maw seed. At this time it will be 

 well to give each bird two or three mealworms or house flies 

 daily. When six weeks old, they may be given the same 

 food as recommended for adult birds. Keep them in a box 

 cage, in a moderately warm room, until they are fully fledged. 



Distinguishing Marks of Cock and Hen. — The hen is 

 smaller in size than the cock, and weighs only 6dr., whereas 

 the male weighs 8dr. The female is paler in the various 



