158 THE BIRDS OF KENT 



to sight, on account of the resemblance to the surround- 

 ing bark of the tree. 



It is included in the fauna of Higham and the Mailing 

 Valley by the Kev. C. H. Fielding, and Bethersden by 

 Captain J. D. Cameron. It is rare in the Orlestone 

 district according to Mr. R. T. Filmer. One was seen in 

 Burnt Oak Wood on March 6, 1902, and it has been 

 observed to catch flies like a Flycatcher. Mr. W. 

 Prentis, in his Birds of EainJiam, says : " Though pretty 

 generally distributed the Creeper is not an every-day 

 bird with us ; we now and then catch a glimpse of one in 

 our orchard trees ; they do upon occasions nest in the 

 orchards." 



In May, 1905, at Orlestone, a Tree-Creeper built a nest 

 between two upright posts which formed one side of a 

 doorway to a thatched and faggot-sided poultry rearing 

 shed. There happened to be a notch in one of the posts, 

 which formed a ledge between the two, and only left 

 space enough for this small bird to pass in and out. 

 Not far off in the same shed a Wren built its nest in 

 the faggots which formed the walls of it. 



On May 31, 1906, not far from the above shed, a Tree- 

 Creeper's nest was found, built between two upright 

 black feather-edged boards, which stood with a number of 

 others against a fence under some trees. The leaves 

 of the overhanging trees had fallen between these two 

 boards and made a foundation for the nest, leaving 

 scarcely space enough for the bird to pass in or out. 



