50 The Nuthatch. 
As I was sitting one fine autumn day with my 
sketch-book on my knee, my attention was drawn to 
the movements of a Nuthatch as it came down a 
thick nut-stem head-foremost with a nut in its béak, 
apparently looking for a crevice in the wood in which 
to put the nut; at last, having found a crack in the 
bark, it stood with its head back and gave a sharp 
peck, throwing all the strength of its little frame into 
the blow: the nut-shell came apart, and the bird picked 
up the kernel and flew away with it into the wood. 
Another time, I was watching a Nuthatch in the 
month of October near an orchard, and saw this bird 
with a filbert in its beak. I kept my standing against 
the trunk of a tree, and saw it go to the bottom of 
another tree close by, soon after flying away in the 
same direction as it came without anything in its beak. 
| My curiosity was excited, and I went to the place from 
which the Nuthatch flew; there I found a tuft of grass 
beaten down by the frequent settling of this bird, 
and, on further inspection, I found a small hole under 
a large root; I took a stick and forked away the 
mould, when, just under the surface, I found more 
than a pottle of these sweet nuts already shelled. I 
have no doubt they were put there for the purpose 
