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ease. In the Autumn it is no uncommon 
thing to find in the crevices of the hark of 
an old tree, a great many broken nut- 
shells, the work of these birds, who re- 
peatedly return to the same spot for this 
purpose. They feed not only upon nuts, 
but also upon insects of almost every de- 
scription; and have also been seen during 
the cyder season, picking up the seeds from 
the refuse of the pressed apples. 
The tail of the Nuthatch has an alter- 
nate motion like some of the motacilla 
genus, and another peculiarity observable 
in this bird is, that it seldom squats in the 
natural position, or with its head erect; it is 
commonly awry, or even hanging down- 
wards; it is supposed that it sleeps in holes 
of trees, as those which have been kept in 
confinement, though sometimes mounting 
upon a perch, and resting with the head 
mostly downwards, yet were never ob- 
served to roost upon it at night. In the 
spring it has a remarkable loud shrill 
whistle, which ceases after incubation; 
in the autumn it has a double reiterated 
cry. The singular noise which some 
