208 NATURAL HISTORY 
the female towards her young is equally strong and in- 
teresting. 
Nuthatch. ( 'Sitta . Wil. P3. 34.) There are several 
species of this bird, but only one found in England, the 
length of which is five inches and three quarters long; 
the upper mandible is black, and the lower white. The 
tongue is short, horny at the end, and jagged. All the 
upper parts of the body are of bluish gray; the cheeks 
and chin are white; the breast and belly pale orange-co- 
loured; and the quills dusky; the tail is short, and con- 
sists of twelve feathers, the two middle ones of which 
are gray, the two outer spotted with white, and the rest 
dusky. The legs are pale yellow. 
This bird is shy and solitary, frequenting the woods, 
and running up and down the trees. It often moves its 
tail like the wagtail. The manners of all the other spe- 
cies very nearly correspond with the European nuthatch; 
most of them feed on insects > and some of them on hazel 
nuts. 
The female deposits her eggs, six or seven in number, 
in some hole of a tree, frequently in one that has been 
deserted by the woodpecker, on rotten wood mixed with 
moss. The nuthatch does not migrate, but in winter ap- 
proaches nearer inhabited places, and is sometimes seen 
in orchards and gardens. 
Hoopoe. ( 'TJpupa . PI. 34.) The length of this bird is 
twelve inches, and the breadth nineteen. The bill is 
above two inches long, black, slender, and somewhat 
curved; the eyes hazel; the tongue very short and trian- 
gular; the head is ornamented with a crest, consisting of 
a double row of feathers, of a pale orange colour, tipped 
with black, the highest about two inches in length; the 
neck is of a pale reddish brown; the breast and belly 
white, which in the young ones are marked with various 
dusky lines, pointing downwards; the back, scapular, 
and wings, are crossed with broad bars of black and 
white; the lesser coverts of the wings, light brown; the 
tail consists of ten feathers, each marked white, which 
when closed, assumes the form of a crescent, the horns 
pointing downwards: the legs are short and black. There 
