284 



TREE-CREEPER. HOOPOE. 



reaches the ground, and replacing it in its chink, resume 

 its work. One slightly wounded, and caught, was put in 

 a cage, when, without loss of time, it began battering the 

 wood- work, just as it would haye done a nutshell, and 

 persevered till it died, more of fatigue than hunger, for 

 they are bold birds, and feed readily. In America, it is 

 said that they can be tamed, and will creep up and down 

 their owner's body, poking their bills into seams and 

 button-holes, just as they do on trees in their wild state. 

 The Certhia, or Tree-Creeper, like the Nuthatch, 

 glides up and down the stems of trees ; but, so far from 

 having a bill strong enough to crack a nut, it is so feeble 

 that the shell of a beetle's wing would resist its powers ; 

 but it is admirably adapted for its mode of life. The 

 little Tree-Creeper looks more like a mouse than a bird, 

 as it runs in silence up and down a bough in search of 

 minute insects ; and so beneficial has it been found in 

 ridding trees of noxious insects, that in America, where 

 it seems to be more abundant than with us, a box is 

 placed at the top of a long pole, to entice it to build in 

 gardens, where it makes itself a very welcome guest. 



The Bee-Eaters are so rarely seen in England as 

 scarcely to be considered as British birds; but, when 

 once seen, can never be mistaken or forgotten, brilliant 



as they are with blue 

 and green of various 

 shades, tinged by 

 beautifully reflected 

 lights. As its name 

 implies, it lives 

 chiefly upon bees, 

 which it catches on 

 the wing. 



The Hoopoe is 

 another elegant bird, 

 very scarce, but not 

 quite so rare as the 

 Hoopoe. Bee-Eater. One was. 



