Wayside Observations 149 



the black-and-white warbler, is not, after all, so expert 

 a creeper as is the nuthatch, which may be called the 

 arboreal skater par excellence. The warbler does not go 

 scuttling straight down a vertical bole or branch as the 

 nuthatch does, but swings his lithe body from side to 

 side, as if he did not loosen the hold of both feet simul- 

 taneously but alternately. Besides, both in ascending 

 and descending he must have more frequent recourse to 

 his wings to tide him over the difficult places. While the 

 nuthatch can glide over the smoothest and hardest bark, 

 and even descend the wall of a brick house, his sharp 

 claws taking a firm grip on the edges of the bricks, the 

 warbler is not quite so much of a gymnast, for when he 

 strikes a difficult spot in his promenade ground, he flies 

 or flits over it to the next protuberance which his claws 

 can hold. He has a decided advantage, however, over all 

 his warbler kin, for he is not only gifted with the creeping 

 talent, but is also just as dexterous as they in perching 

 on a horizontal twig. 



The little bird known as the brown creeper belongs to 

 a different avicular family entirely, but in one respect he 

 is like the black-and-white warbler that is, he scales 

 the trunks and branches of the trees. There, however, 

 the resemblance ceases, for the creeper rarely goes head 

 downward, evidently thinking that the proper position 

 for a bird's head is pointing toward the sky, not toward 

 the ground. Besides, he seldom, if ever, sits crosswise 

 on a perch; no, he is an inveterate creeper. My study of 

 him proves that he does not hold his feet directly under 



