THE TREE-CREEPER 281 



ascent. So rapid is this movement, and so smoothly done, that at a 

 distance he might easily be mistaken for a mouse. Occasionally 

 he will descend a foot or more with a curious sideway hop, and 

 immediately continue his ascent. 



Certain structural modifications greatly assist the tree-creeper 

 in its method of climbing. Its feet are large in proportion to the 

 small size of their owner ; the hind-toe, besides being armed with a 

 long curved claw, is exceedingly mobile, and may be turned outwards 

 till it forms a right angle with its ordinary direction, and all the 

 other toes may be so twisted as to reverse the position of the claws. 

 When waiting to photograph the tree-creeper feeding its young, 

 although unable to see the bird, I have known immediately it has 

 alighted on the trunk of a tree by the sound made by these long claws 

 gripping and tearing the bark, which is often frayed to ribbons by the 

 peculiar method of descent employed by this bird. 



The tail consists of twelve long-pointed feathers, specially 

 stiffened and slightly curved ; these are pressed against the tree 

 when ascending, and thus give material support to the whole body. 

 The beak also is well adapted to its own peculiar work, being 

 long, slender, and curved downwards. Swiftly, silently, and with the 

 finesse of an expert fencer, the tree-creeper thrusts it here and there 

 in search of succulent spiders, or larvae and insects in general, which 

 are then taken and destroyed without warning. There is something 

 almost uncanny in the remorseless accuracy with which this slender 

 tool does its work. I have been astonished at its strength. Not 

 long ago I accidentally detached a piece of bark, and so doing laid 

 bare the entrance to a nest. When the old bird returned, she at once 

 set to work cutting and sawing the surrounding loose bark till she 

 had collected sufficient to repair the breach, which reminded me 

 of the well-tempered scimitars of the paladins of old, warranted to 

 cut through a man's thick skull, or a sofa cushion. 



It has frequently been stated that the tree-creeper invariably 

 begins his search for food at the foot of a tree and works upwards as 



