464 FAMILY CERTHIAD^E, OR CREEPERS. 



name of the Bird seems to be derived from the peculiar sound, 

 resembling hoop, hoop, hoop, very softly and rapidly breathed out, 

 which it is continually uttering. 



419. As the preceding group conducted us towards the 

 Conirostral Birds, so does the family of CERTHIAD^E, or Creepers, 

 lead us towards the Insectivorous division of the Perchers, 

 especially the Warblers, with which some of them have a very 

 close relationship ; whilst other species exhibit an equally close 

 relationship to the Birds of the next order, Scansores. They are 

 for the most part adapted to live upon the trunks and branches 

 of trees ; and to feed upon the Insects which infest the bark. The 

 form of the bill varies in different species ; being long and slender 

 in some ; short and stout, and capable of penetrating very hard 

 substances, in others. Their plumage is usually of a dull brown 

 colour. The true Creepers have a long slender arched bill, enclos- 

 ing a long, narrow, sharp-pointed tongue, which is jagged near 



FIG. 260. HEAD, FOOT, AND TAIL, OF BROWN CREEPER. 



its tip. The wings are long and rounded ; the feet are rather 

 slender, but the hinder toe is long and stout ; and the tips of the 

 tail-feathers extend beyond the webs, and are firm and pointed. 

 These Birds cling by their feet to the perpendicular surface 

 of trees, resting upon the stiff quills of their tails ; they creep 

 from the base to the summit of the stem, with short jerking 



