Perching Birds. 
The Nutcracker. 
THE SIBERIAN 
NUTCRACKER. 
( Nucifraga 
macrorhyncha.) 
gregarious like the Rook, many couples 
nesting in the same vicinity, and in the 
autumn small flocks of Jackdaws may be 
observed in migration. Nesting as it does 
under cover, the structure which it makes is 
a slovenly affair, wanting the neatness and 
substantiality of the Crows’ nest. The eggs, 
too, are different from those of the latter 
birds, being paler and much less plentifully 
marked. 
It would seem from 
the recent observations of Mr. Ernst Hartert (Nov. Zool. IV., pp. 
131-136) that ornithologists have been in error in supposing that 
the Nutcracker which occasionally visits England is the Scandi- 
navian species, the true N. cavyocatactes of Linnaeus. There appear to be four races 
which have been confounded under the latter heading, viz. : — N. cavyocatactes from 
Scandinavia and the Russian Baltic Provinces, N . relicta from the Alps and mountains 
of Central Europe, N. macrorhyncha from Siberia, and N .japonica from Japan. The 
Siberian form apparently migrates, whereas the others are stationary, and it is this 
Siberian bird which invades Europe at certain periods, coming in large numbers, like 
Pallas’ Sand-Grouse and the Waxwing (Ampelis garrulus). At rare intervals the Nut- 
cracker visits England. It is a most unmistakeable kind of Crow, having a long thin 
bill, more slender than that of a Rook, while the upper plumage is varied with triangular 
spots of white. In their native home these birds are quite early breeders, nesting 
in March in the pine forests of Europe and Asia. Like other Crows, the Nutcracker is 
almost omnivorous. 
The Jay divides 
with the Magpie 
the palm of being 
the handsomest 
of our British Corvidcc, and, though 
it does not possess the iridescent 
tints of the latter bird, the beauty 
of the blue and black barred 
feathers on the wing is unsur- 
passed by any of our native birds. 
Unfortunately the Jay, despite his 
beauty, has few friends, for he is 
an unmerciful pilferer of the eggs 
and young of Game birds, and is 
waged war upon in consequence. 
THE JAY. 
(Garrulus 
glandarius.) 
1 - The Jay. 
-The Magpie. 
