. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. THE NUTHATCUJiH. 69 The female does not differ from the male, but the young Ijirtls are much more dusky in cohjur tlian tlie adults, and have longer tails. This eurious fact is witnessed also in the case of some of the Humming birds. THE NUTHATCHES (Sittuuc). These birds have longer bills than the Titmice, and their plumage is more compact, that of the last-named birds being rather fluffy. They are all inhabitants of the northern parts of the Old and the New World, being well represented in North America. True Nuthatclies also occur in the
. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. THE NUTHATCUJiH. 69 The female does not differ from the male, but the young Ijirtls are much more dusky in cohjur tlian tlie adults, and have longer tails. This eurious fact is witnessed also in the case of some of the Humming birds. THE NUTHATCHES (Sittuuc). These birds have longer bills than the Titmice, and their plumage is more compact, that of the last-named birds being rather fluffy. They are all inhabitants of the northern parts of the Old and the New World, being well represented in North America. True Nuthatclies also occur in the Himalayas and in the hills of Burmah; in India and the Malayan Islands, the Blue Nuthatches (Dendrophila), an outlying representative of which is seen in the Coral-billed Nuthatch (Ili/p/ierpen coralUrost) n) of , in Austiaha and New Guinea the Nuthatches belong to a closely-allied. COMMON NUTHATCH. but distinct genus (Sitella). Like the Titmice, these birds build generally in the hole of a tree ; but a striking exception to the general rule is exliibited in the British Museum, where there is a nest of the Nuthatch, presented by Mr. Bond, composed entirely of mud, and built into the side of a haystack. Mr. Bond writes ;—" I have received this summer from the neighbourhood of East Grinstead a nest built by a pair of Nuthatches, which is so remarkable in its construction, and in the site selected for it, that I think a notice of it is worth recording. It is well known that the Nuthatch almost invariably makes use of a hole, either in a tree or wall, in which to deposit its eggs, and is not, in the strict sense of the word, a nest-builder. In this instance a haystack was selected, and the birds, by pulling out a quantity of the hay, and plastering up the hollow with mud brought from a considerable distance, formed a nest of similar construction to that of a Swallow, but very much larger, with an entrance-hole near the top, and the ends of the hay stems neatly e
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecta, booksubjectanimals
