them to get at it. In the spring of the- present year, when
examining some 'fine oldrb&©cb trees,* upon- o n ewh i c h a
pair of the Nuthatch had been-for some' • time observed*'to be,
very busy, a considerable number Of thC^b’eech- nuts were
found fixed in the angles of various fissures in the bark,
several shells and husks were lying at th e ' fraTSei'-#f*‘' the'**tr'e'e^
and there was little doubt These trees were among those which
this pair of birds visited daily.
The call of the Nuthatch is- a shrill* single-note, frequently
repeated ; and, like the other true climbers, it builds4&'-holes
of trees: if the external aperture ffsl large, the Nuthatch
plasters up part of it with mud, and if the plastering is- removed,
the bird almost invariably, renews it the first ofr^eeSn'd
day. In reference to this 'habit of working with -plaster* -one
of the names applied to this bird in France is. Bic-mayon.
Bird-nesting boys,-when they find a hole that1* has'-been recently
plastered, always examine'it, as the'yiknow by experience
that it is almost certain to be tenanted’:'*'
The Nuthatch makes a slight nest, on rather a collection
of dead leaves, moss, bits of bark and wood* and lays .from
five to seven ig g r ; these "are nine lines in length^md sfeken
lines in breadth, white, with some pale red spots^fhe eggs
are very much like those of the Great T ity but the spots are
generally less numerous and rather larger.
The actions of these- birds are veiy amusing*, and it is-not
difficult to induce them to pay constant visits to a garden;
I t is only necessary to fix a few nuts in the bark of any ’tree
that is conveniently situated for observation from a window,
and the Nuthatch will soon find them ; and fresh nuts being
deposited will insure almost daily visits. A kernel of a nut
fastened to the bark of a tree with a pin is a great temptation.
If old birds are .caught and caged, though they will
feed readily on almost 'anything "that is given them,
they soon kill themselves by their unceasing exertions to
escap|^ but -fb^^young; birds are ^easily reared: and Sir
William Jardine relates that/libe had lately,a® opportunity
©fr observing a*; 4ndst q^dour native species which had been
jpoung*! T h q ^ b^SA.e»remarkably, tame;-and when
?|4m§ed from their c a g ^ ^ l l d i run .over their owner in
all dK^eJi^is^iijE^fr down- bodyiahd limbs,, poking their,
bills jia^Of_seams^ prih^^ilspa in search of food upon some old
and rent .freest afid Uttering’' during^-the time, a lowand plain-
'When- running, up or’^qw.Pritkey rest».ppon the
back park of"the .wfofo^^^^s^and mak^gre^t: use as a support
qrafAwknU nr.ay fiecalled »© ..real^Ljeel» and never,use the
tail. When- ^ sfog. t l ^ c sleeplwith head and back,
,i|(^Bjrpa^d^ja.fin»* the manner of^5^mral TitMjce.^: -^ e iN c fe
hatch haSvfrequentsand o b ^ tp a t e v ^ m ^ S ^ somef^pecies*of
thei T#S|a4r thetposifessiomof a favoufke^lpnalityfo.r .nesting,
an|wffis may be,.a reason for; plastering up a ^ensj^qrable por-
tidn~of(a. laige .external aperture, as the smallest- breach is
the m.iV’st* easily.defended.
The Nuthatch' is found in most of the wooded parts of
E n g la n ^ P ^ e a r Londbn^may be frequentlyla^jr^in Ken-
skgtonGardens:; -and I may here observe ihat I am indebted
to, Mr. Henry .Churton^pf; Oxford Street, for most of. the notes
I havedused referring to Kensing|qn ■ Gardens -as a locality.
From London westward this. bird, though not observed in
Cornwall by Montagu, is,found as far as Liskeard, and the
wooded eastern parts of that^punty,-- according to Mr. Gouch
and Mr. Rodd; but iskjrare, in the extreme western part.
Mr. Eyton includes .tfig^Nuthatch in his Catalogiie of the
Birds of Shropshire and North W a le s; but it does not appear
to have been taken in Ireland. In the midland counties
of England it is well known, and on the east coast is
found in Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and occasionally in
Yorkshire. Mr. Selby has traced it as far north as the
banks of the Wear and the Tyne.’ The authority for con-
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