272 PERCHERS AND SINGERS 



small woodpecker, and although his friend the chickadee has 

 more style than he, he himself is much better fitted for digging 

 in bark. The top of his head is black, his sides, throat and 

 breast are pure white, while his back is dull blue, or gray- 

 blue. As a climber, this bird surpasses the woodpecker, 

 because in clinging to a tree-trunk it makes no use of its 

 tail. 



Nuthatches are easily encouraged to make your trees 

 their headquarters. In December, nail to a tree-trunk here 

 and there, about twelve feet from the ground, some lumps 

 of suet, or fat pork on the rind, or beef bones with a little 

 raw meat upon them, and see how quickly the birds find 

 them out. The ''winter residents" will feast upon them 

 until the last morsel has disappeared, and they will appreci- 

 ate your thought fulness thus displayed precisely when tree- 

 borers burrow deepest, and are most difficult to get at. 



THE TREE-CREEPER FAMILY 



Certhiidae 



The Brown Creeper 1 represents a small Family of 

 small birds of tree-climbing habits, but with bills that are 

 rather too slender for work in bark. They are not fitted by 

 nature for digging a modest and retiring borer from the 

 bottom of his tunnel, and therefore they make a specialty of 

 bark-lice and other surface wood-workers which can be picked 

 off without hard digging. 



As an example of protective coloration, this little crea- 

 ture is worthy of special note. Its back is brown, marked by 



1 Cer'thi-a fa-mil-i-ar'is amcricanus. Length, 5.5 inches. 



