A history of British birds. By the Rev. F.O. Morris (1862) (14748405921)

Identifier: historyofbritish02morr (find matches)
Title: A history of British birds. By the Rev. F.O. Morris ..
Year: 1862 (1860s)
Authors: Morris, F. O. (Francis Orpen), 1810-1893
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: London, Groombridge and Sons
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries



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gly distributed, though itby no means ranks with very rare birds. In Yorkshire, itbreeds in Castle Howard Park, the stately avenues of beechtrees there being exactly to its taste. It is also met withat Seacroft, near Leeds; about Harewood Bridge and Park;in the neighbourhood of Sheffield, Doncaster, and Barnsley;in Stainborough woods, and those of Wentworth Castle, thesplendid seat of Thomas Frederick Vernon Wentworth, Esq.I have seen it in Dorsetshire, in the parish of GrlanvillesWootton. It is pretty common, as W. F. W. Bird, Esq.informs me, in Kensington Gardens, near London. In Ireland and Scotland it appears to be unknown. In the winter, the Nuthatch leaves the woods for less drearysituations, and is then not unfrequently found in orchardsand gardens, but it resides with us throughout the year. More than two or three of these birds are not often seentogether, except indeed while the parents and the young arekept together by the family tie. They are easily tamed, and V y ■ f>
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NUTHATCH. J^iUTHATCH. 63 display their natural propensities upon whatever wood-workmay be used to con line them. Even in their wild state theyare far from shy, and may be approached pretty closely inthe sweet spring time, when the male bird is engaged insinging ditties to his mistresss eyebrovv. The Nuthatch does not often alight on the ground, thoughit does so occasionally in search of food. It does not useits tail as a rest in climbing trees, as the Woodpeckers do,but its claws are sufficiently prehensile and adhesive to enableit to traverse the trunks of trees in every direction, not onlyupwards like those birds, but downwards also. Its notrequiring the help of its tail for the facilis descensus, isdoubtless the reason of its organization being such as toenable it to do without its aid at all. It supports itselfmainly on the hind part of the leg, and what may be calledthe heel. Its posture on the tree is straight, and close tothe bark, and it does not aid its progress by an occasio