BIRDS OF THE WOODS 53 



tipped with white and barred with brownish yellow. 

 Tail reddish brown ; rather long stiff pointed feathers 

 acting as fulcrum or prop when climbing. Beak rather 

 long and curved ; dark brown above and yellowish 

 below. Legs light brown. Length 5 in. Female 

 similar. Young more rufous, and shorter and less 

 curved beak. 



Language. Song not often heard, a pleasing but 

 brief twitter. Call-note, a low " cheep," and a plaintive 

 " syou." 



Habits. It may be called a parasite on trees, as it 

 spends its whole life climbing spirally upwards on trunks, 

 staying its progress every now and then to probe some 

 crevice for insects with its bill, much like a mouse creep- 

 ing, and most unobtrusive. When watched it at once 

 jerks round to the other side of the tree. It never 

 descends the trunk when climbing, but on reaching the 

 top flies down to the base and again winds spirally up, 

 and so on. Flight undulating. 



Food. Insects and their larvae, spiders, and seeds, 

 especially those of the Scotch fir. 



Nest. April onwards. Two broods. 



Site. Behind bark on a decaying tree, in. crack in 

 tree, and the like. 



Materials. Bark-strips, small twigs, rootlets, and 

 grass, lined with ligneous fibres, moss, fine grass, feathers, 

 and hair. 



Eggs. Six to nine. White, spotted with reddish 

 brown, sometimes with grey underlying marks, like some 

 of the Tits. 



LESSER REDPOLL (Acanthis rufescens). 



Occurring most abundantly in the north of England 

 and Ireland. It nests in most of the counties, but more 

 sparingly towards the South. In Scotland, very local. 



