THE BROWN CREEPER 
In the bands of little birds which in winter visit the trees 
about the houses, there are often three different species, all of which 
find their food on the trunks or large limbs of trees, but by such 
different methods that a study of their habits is not only interesting 
but also extremely instructive. The little Downy Woodpecker, like 
all its tribe, hitches up the trunk or along the upper side of the limb, 
using its stiff tail feathers as a support, and holding on to the bark 
by its two pairs of sharp claws. The Nuthatch, with a short weak 
tail, and toes arranged as in all song birds, three in front and one 
behind, has the toes, however, spread so wide that it can climb head 
downward, over, under, or around the limb. Least known of the 
three is the Brown Creeper. It, too, has three toes in front and one 
behind, but although not related to the Woodpeckers, it has developed 
stiff and pointed tail feathers. It therefore clings to the bark in an 
upright position, and it commonly begins at the bottom of the tree 
and works steadily upward, often in a spiral. 
During the winter months, the Brown Creeper probably visits 
every village street and every city park in the Northern States, but 
as it is just the color of the weathered bark and moves close to it, it 
escapes the notice of nearly every one. If one learns to distinguish 
the fine wiry note, and watches the tree from which it proceeds, one 
sees the bird flutter to the base of a neighboring tree and begin 
again its steady ascent. When two birds are together, they some- 
times indulge in a very pretty flight, and tumble in the air like 
igeons. As a rule, however, the Creeper is solitary, and, in this 
5 ¢ 
3t 
