504 THE COMMON TREE CREEPER. 



till she came back, for, though scared, I knew maternity would 

 conquer fear. In ten minutes she returned, and alighted 

 against the trunk of a tree four yards off ; after creeping round it 

 searching for insects she darted into her nest. I went back on 

 the 19th, but the young were flown. Wishing to inspect the 

 nest I tore off a portion of the inside branches and carefully 

 examined it. It was composed of moss, fine roots, and grass, 

 with a few feathers, chiefly wood pigeon's, and some wool; 

 the entrance was only | of an inch between the post and a 

 stone. The creeper is slender, for, though the body and neck 

 are short, the wings and tail are long, the plumage soft and 

 elongated, with loose barbs and slender filaments to give an 

 airy lightness while searching for its tiny prey, the long- 

 deflective tail being exactly formed to stick to the tree. The 

 long-pointed bill and tongue are well adapted to pick them 

 out, but, though long, the tongue is not extensile, the longer 

 and more slender bill making up for that want ; the shorter, 

 stronger bill of the Picidoe being more used to tap and pierce. 

 The bill, long as the head ; legs, short ; the long, mobile toes 

 (three before and one behind), with their very long, sharp claws 

 perfect the formation of this tiny bird for the purpose designed 

 — as if Nature said to man, " Here is a creature 1 have made 

 with special care for creeping up and clinging to trees, for 

 picking out wee insects and their pupae from every nook and 

 cranny in their bark, so don't molest it, because it shows no 

 distrust when rapt in my work." For, as Coleridge says — 



" The dear God who loveth us 

 He made them, great and small." 



Aye ! so very small that myriads of species cannot be seen by 

 the naked eye— (as great worlds wheeling far away in the 

 immensity of space cannot be seen with the aid of the most 

 powerful telescope) — while with the help of the microscope 

 thousands of creatures may be seen in a drop of water, a con- 

 sumptive lung, or in an inch of our common mother — dust. In 

 fulfilling its mission the little creeper knows not fear — is more 

 like a mouse than a bird — except in the pairing season, when 

 they gambol and scud along the trunks and branches, chasing 

 each other like feathered mice. Woodpeckers break the bark 

 for their food, tits and reguli search the twigs and leaves, but the 

 creeper searches and probes the smallest chink — as the little 

 jenny wren searches amongst stones and shrubs — every creature 

 faithfully fulfilling the object of its creation — the science of life 



