I was wondering how the Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) got its name when I flicked on to the Woodland Trust website and there was the answer: ‘The nuthatch’s habit of hacking at these nuts to retrieve them from their hiding place is thought to have earned the species its name.’ The comment refers to this bird’s practice of stashing nuts in gaps and crevices in the bark of trees as a safeguard against the leaner days of winter, much as squirrels and Jays do.