Nuthatch and Creeper. 25 



Cherwell for food and shelter. But there are some 

 birds which may be seen to greater advantage 

 in another part of Oxford, and we will take the 

 short line to Christchurch Meadow, past Holy- 

 well Church, doubtless the abode of Owls, and 

 the fine elms of Magdalen Park, beloved by the 

 Woodpigeons. 



All this lower part of the Cherwell, from Holy- 

 well mill to its mouth at the barges, abounds in 

 snug and secure retreats for the birds. In Addi- 

 son's Walk, as well as in the trees in Christ- 

 church Meadow, dwell the Nuthatch and the 

 Tree-creeper, both remarkable birds in all their 

 ways, and each representative of a family of which 

 no other member has ever been found in these 

 islands. They are tree-climbing birds, but they 

 climb in very different ways : the Creeper helping 

 himself, like the Woodpeckers, with the down- 

 ward-bent feathers of his strong tail ; while the 

 Nuthatch, having no tail to speak of, relies chiefly 

 on his hind claw. These birds are now placed, 

 on account of the structure of their feet, in a 

 totally different order to that of the Woodpeckers, 

 who rank with the Swifts and the Nightjars. 



