i 9 4 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



five inches and a half, as against five inches. 

 Both are resident, and both are in the habit 

 of frequenting trees. Their plumage is, how- 

 ever, very different. The back of the nuthatch 

 is of a blue, slate colour, the throat nearly 

 white and the under parts of a reddish-buff, 

 whereas the back of the tree-creeper is brown, 

 with lighter brown spots, the under parts being 

 white, and the tail-feathers furnished with stiff 

 points. The habits of both birds are appar- 

 ently similar, and both possess the power of 

 clinging to the bark of the trees. The tree- 

 creeper, however, utilizes the sharp points of its 

 tail-feathers in climbing a tree, in a similar manner 

 to the woodpecker, in its search for insect food, 

 and nearly always moves in an upward or 

 horizontal course. The nuthatch, on the contrary, 

 though unprovided with the same sharp-pointed 

 tail-feathers, is able not only to ascend trees with 

 equal facility, but also to descend them, and if 

 the two birds were alike in plumage, this peculiarity 

 would alone suffice to distinguish them. But apart 

 from these differences, there are others which 

 also suffice for their identification. The one, 

 the tree-creeper, feeds almost exclusively on 

 insects, and its bill is slender and pointed, and 

 has a downward curve ; whereas that of the 

 nuthatch is short, strong, and pointed. Its use 

 is apparent to anyone who examines the rough 

 bark of any trees, such as the elm or oak, 

 near to which hazels or filbert-trees may be grow- 



