184 GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS 
its climbing tools work only one way. It is dependent on its 
stiff tail for support, and so must needs hop down backwards. 
The Creeper is still more hidebound in its habits, and its motto 
seems to be “ Excelsior.” It begins at the foot of its ladder, and 
climbs ever upwards. But the climbing ability of the Nuthatch 
is unlimited. It circles round the branches, or moves up, down, 
and around the trunks, apparently oblivious to the law of gravi- 
tation. Its readiness in descending topsyturvy is due, in part, 
to the fact that, as the quills of its tail are not stiff enough to 
afford support, it is obliged to depend upon its legs and feet. 
As it has on each foot three toes in front and only one behind, 
it reverses the position of one foot in going head downward, 
throwing it out sidewise and backward, so that the three long 
claws on the three front toes grip the bark and keep the bird from 
falling forward. The other foot is thrown forward, and thus, 
with feet far apart, the “little gymnast has a wide base beneath 
him.”” The Nuthatch not only straddles in going down the tree, 
but spreads its legs widely in going around the trunk, but bird 
artists generally seem to have overlooked this habit. The 
slightly upturned bill of the Nuthatch, and its habit of hanging 
upside down, give it an advantage when in the act of prying 
off scales of bark, under which many noxious insects are se- 
creted. 
— E. H. Forsusu. 
“The little, brown-striped bird that Sarah saw this 
morning, that somewhat resembles a Wren, is the Brown 
Creeper, for it creeps like a veritable feathered mouse. 
Though it is a true tree-trunk bird, in that it lives and 
nests as close to the heart of wood as possible, it has a 
slender needle-like bill for picking out insects; but it can- 
not bore wood with it, so it has to be content to make 
its home between the wood and the bark. 
“This bird comes to us in middle New England only 
as a winter visitor, and well does it pay its way by eating 
