PEEPERS AND CREEPERS 127 



being quite hidden, and his call, which is the only note 

 that is commonly heard, is only a little sharp squeaky 

 'screek, screek,' given as he winds his way up and 

 around a tree-trunk, in the same way as a person would 

 go up a circular staircase. 



" You may catch sight of a brown object moving as 

 swiftly as a mouse, and before you have made up your 

 mind what it is he will have gone round the other side 

 of the tree. But the Creeper has one habit that Avill 

 some day give you a good chance to look at him. 

 When he wishes to remain still a moment, he spreads 

 his tail with its stiff pointed feathers and props himself 

 by it against the tree. This is your opportunity." 



'' Does the Creeper stay here all summer ? " asked 

 Nat. " And doesn't he sing a song like the other birds 

 when he makes his nest ? " 



" He is not a Citizen hereabouts ; he likes a cooler 

 climate and makes his home near and across the north- 

 ern border of the United States. We shall see him in 

 the autumn, when he has become a wanderer through 

 the country. If the trees are not coated with ice, a 

 little flock may stay here all winter, while others drift 

 further south." 



" Then we shan't hear him sing or see his nest — 

 have you ever seen it, Uncle Roy?" 



'' Yes, my boy, and it was the beauty of his little 

 song that made me stop one day, in going through an 

 old pine wood, and search for the singer. The song 

 was very strange and wild, unlike any other I had ever 

 heard. As my eyes grew accustomed to the dim light, 

 I saw that my old friend, the Brown Creeper, was the 

 musician. At the same time he flew to one of the pine 



