262 



HABITS OF THE TEEE CREEPER. 



quick tripping movemeuts give it a great resemblance to a mouse, and ever and anon, 

 as it comes again into sight from the opposite side of the trunk, its beautifully white 

 breast gleams suddenly in contrast with the sombre-coloured bark. Its eyes are wonder- 

 fully keen, as it will discern insects of so minute a form that the human eye can hardly 

 perceive them, and it seems to possess some instinctive mode of detecting the presence of 

 its insect prey beneath moss or lichens, and will perseveringly bore through the substance 

 in wliich they are hidden, never failing to secure them at last. 



The Creeper is a very timid bird, and if it is alarmed at the sight of a human being, 

 it will either fly off to a distant tree, or will quietly slip round the trunk of the tree on 

 which it is running, and keep itself carefully out of sight. It soon, however, gains 

 confidence, and, provided that the spectator remains perfectly quiet, the little head and 

 white lireast may soon be seen peering anxiously round the trunk, and in a few minutes the 

 bird will resume its progress uj)0u the tree, and run cheerily up the bark, accompanying 

 itself with its faint trilling song. It seldom attempts a long flight, seeming to content 

 itself with flitting from tree to tree. 



Although so timid a bird, the 

 Creeper soon becomes familiarized with 

 those whom it is accustomed to see, 

 provided that they treat it kindly, and 

 will even come to receive food from 

 their hands. In one instance that has 

 come to my knowledge, the little birds 

 were seen to frequent the patches of 

 gum that exude from the bark of 

 several trees, and in one spot where a 

 number of small branches united, so 

 as to form a kind of cup or hollow, a 

 little heap of gum was found, which 

 seemed to have been placed there by the 

 Creepers, as they were constantly seen 

 haunting the spot. Feeling sure that 

 the birds fed upon the gum, tlie spec- 

 tators used to supply their larder not 

 only with gum, but with crumbs of 

 bread, different seeds, and little morsels 

 of raw meat, which disappeared as 

 regularly as they were provided. 



Some persons have supposed that 



in climbing the trees it uses its beak, 



after the manner of the parrots and 



other climbing birds. This, however, 



is not the case, as the beak is only 



employed for the purpose of probing 



the bark, and the whole progression is achieved by means of the long, curved, and 



sharply-pointed claws, which retain their hold so firndy, that I have seen a Creeper 



hang by its claws after it had been shot, and remain firndy fixed to the bark long 



after life had fled. 



The Creeper is a very nervous bird, aiid may be temporarily paralysed liy a smart blow 

 given to the tree or branch on which it is running. Expert bird-catching boys will often 

 secure this bird by flinging a stone or heavy stick at the tree, and tlien pouncing on the 

 bird before it has recovered from its alarm. It can even be struck fiom its hold by 

 suddenly running round tlie tree, and delivering a sharp bhnv upon tlie part of tl\e trunk 

 on whicli it is clinging. It also takes advantage of tiie uniform brown tint of its back 

 to conceal iteelf frona a real or fancied foe, bj^ clinging closely to tlie tree, and pressing 

 itself so flatly into some crevice, that a human eye can scarcely distinguish it from the 

 bark. The Creeper does not confine itself exclusively to trees, but has often been seen 



COMMON TREE CREEPER.— Cci-aia famiUdris. 



