202 
NATURE NOTES. 
ficiently cracked it, when he flew away. After this he made his 
appearance on the lawn, and took some nuts that I had placed 
there for him, and gradually — by placing the nuts nearer and 
nearer to the house — I induced him to come up quite close to 
the windows for them. He one day appeared accompanied by 
another nuthatch, and the pair used to amuse us by carrying off 
the nuts, one after the other, as fast as they could fly away with 
them, returning for the next before they could possibly have had 
time to crack them, so they must have stored them up some- 
where, to crack and eat at a more convenient season. Though 
the plumage of the pair seemed precisely similar, and I could 
detect no difference in appearance between the cock and hen, I 
always knew my first friend, because he was so much bolder 
than his mate, and when the winter set in he joined the other 
birds who came to be fed beneath the windows. 
When there were no nuts left he did not disdain crumbs, and 
he was the only one of the small birds who ventured to drive 
away the sparrows. He used to rush at them sometimes in 
the most vicious way, while these usually only too bold birds 
would disperse in all directions before the onslaught of his 
terrible-looking beak. Then, left master of the situation, he 
would pick up three or four crumbs in his beak, and fly off with 
them, evidently to feed his more retiring companion who was in 
waiting not far off. 
At last, it gradually dawned upon the nuthatch mind that 
the nuts and crumbs did not come there by accident, and that I 
had something to do with the matter. As soon as he had grasped 
this fact he threw away the last remnants of caution, and boldly 
took up his position every morning on a stick (intended as a 
support for a carnation) standing up in the flower-bed in front of 
the window, whilst I watched him therefrom. Then he used to 
utter a quaint little note, to draw my attention to the fact that 
he was there, and wait patiently till I put out the nuts for him, 
which he seized upon at once, carrying them off one by one; 
nor w’ould he ever touch a single crumb as long as there was the 
least hope of getting any more nuts from me. So tame did he 
become that he used to catch them as I threw them out from 
the open window. At last, thinking what a long time it must 
take him to crack them, I used to crack them for him, throwing 
out the kernels only. This seemed to please him immensely ; he 
instantly realised how much work this would save him, for he 
would always select the kernels in preference to any uncracked 
nuts, and on one occasion, when I had thrown out a nut without 
having cracked it, he would not touch it until he had satisfied 
himself that there was not a kernel to be found anywhere. As 
soon as he had finished carrying off his daily allowance of nuts, 
he would resort to the crumbs, but not before he had remained 
some little time on his stick, uttering the most discontented little 
cries, and looking at me with quite pathetic eyes, in the hope of 
inducing me to give him more nuts first. 
