BLACK AND WHITE CREEPER. 135 



watched its proceedings, in one of the spreading 

 Black-withes, that form large tangled masses of 

 long slender branches over a clear space of mud in 

 the morasses, the topmost stratum of which alone 

 is furnished with leaves, but that dense enough, 

 not only with its own foliage, but also with the 

 drapery of convolvulus that is usually hung in pro- 

 fusion over it. The little bird was mounting from 

 the bottom, hopping from twig to twig, searching 

 and picking as it went up ; when it reached the 

 bushy top, it suddenly descended, apparently by 

 dropping perpendicularly to the bottom, where it 

 picked a little about the mud, then mounted gra- 

 dually, and dropped as before. After proceeding 

 thus two or three times, I secured it. 



At other times it affects the trunks of trees, even 

 large ones, like a true Creeper, hopping diagonally 

 up the perpendicular bole, and when at a good 

 height, dropping down upon the wing, to alight 

 again near the root, and proceed upward in another 

 line. Now and then it stops to pick small insects 

 from the crevices of the bark : and this sort of 

 food I have always found in its stomach. 



It is rather common in Jamaica during the win- 

 ter months : we first saw it on the 26th of Sep- 

 tember, and last on the 30th of April. 



The following interesting note accompanies a very 

 correct drawing of this species by Robinson (Birds : 

 large Folio) : — " Motacilla alba et nigra varia. — 

 It was pursued by a Hawk, and took sanctuary 

 in Chateau-morant House. Mr. Holladay, over- 

 seer at Chateau in Clarendon, made me a present 



