THE TREE CREEPER. 

 (Certhia familiaris.) 



The winsome little Tree-Creeper is distributed all over 

 Great Britain, but you need a sharp eye to detect it in 

 its quiet colouring on the trunk of a tree with which its 

 quiet colours are in perfect harmony. Within the 

 crevices of the bark it finds it diet of destructive 

 creatures' eggs which are glued to the bark and little 

 spiders which hide there. During the winter it associates 

 with the Titmice and Fire-crested Wrens. Upwards and 

 downwards and round about the old tree trunk it moves. 

 It might be taken for a mouse or some such creature; 

 it moves about so deftly and so close to the bole of its 

 tree, a useful unobtrusive little bird. In the United 

 States they consider this species so useful that they fix a 

 box for it, to entice it to nest in gardens. 



The Tree-Creeper climbs as nimbly as the best Wood- 

 pecker. It cannot extend its tongue as that bird does, 

 but can use it very cleverly. With its fine little bill it can 

 pierce into the smallest crevices and extract from them 

 the tiniest grubs. It is of great use in wood and garden. 

 Its usual note is a low " seet " or " sect, seet, seet. 1 ' 

 The simple song of the male bird is recognisable by the 

 syllabes teet, teet, teet, titi-ivoi-teet. 



It is not uncommon in Hungary. 



THE Tree Creeper is smaller even than the Wren, but is 

 longer than that bird; it is a tiny creature with a 

 stiff tail which is very useful in climbing. There are 

 three front toes and one back toe on the little legs; the 



