The Bird Book 



female lays from six to eight white eggs marked 

 with dark red on the larger end. 



But we must turn from the Nuthatch to his 

 suite. His vigorous tap-tapping frightens the 

 insects lurking behind the bark and they come 

 running out only to fall victims to the Tree- 

 creepers and Tits, which thus secure the leavings 

 of his feast. 



Both in colouring and character the Tree- 

 creeper is the antithesis of the Nuthatch. Viewed 

 from a little distance it appears sombre-brown, 

 not easily distinguishable from the tree, up which 

 it climbs with somewhat jerky motions. On 

 closer inspection, however, it proves to be dark 

 brown tinged with golden-buff, streaked with 

 paler brown and ashy-grey on head and back. 

 This gives place to orange-tawny on the rump 

 and upper tail coverts, while the underparts are 

 white, more or less soiled from contact with the 

 trees. 



Modest, retiring and delicate as the Nuthatch 

 is gay, bold and sturdy, the Creeper always 

 attempts to keep the tree between himself and any 

 possible observer, only betraying his presence by 

 occasionally craning his head round to see if the 

 coast is clear. When unconscious of observation 

 he ascends the tree systematically and spirally, 

 working his way to the extreme ends of the 

 branches, pausing here and there to extract some 

 tit-bit from a fissure in the bark a task for 



