Common Creeper. 259 



facilities for climbing perpendicular surfaces, and even the 

 additional power of moving in either an upward or downward 

 direction. Members of this family are of small size, with slender 

 bodies, moderate necks, short wings, slender arched bills, and 

 plumage peculiarly soft and free from bristles ; like the last, 

 they live entirely among the trees, feeding on the seeds, fruits, 

 and insects which they find there. 



107. COMMON CREEPER (Certhia familiaris). 



This is the most elegant and delicate little bird we have, and 

 it is very common, living with us all the year round, but coming 

 to our notice most frequently in the winter, when the trees are 

 bare of foliage, and most of the smaller birds have left us : then 

 it may be seen creeping like a mouse up and down the bole of a 

 tree, hence it is known in the south of the county as the ' Tree- 

 mouse;' or else effecting a spiral ascent by a series of jerks or 

 runs, and constantly shifting its position, now round to the back 

 of the tree-stem, and now again to the front ; or perhaps search- 

 ing for its insect food among the rough logs in a wood-yard. 

 Hence its name familiaris, ' friendly,' or ' belonging to the 

 household;' and, indeed, nothing can exceed the confidence 

 shown by this fearless but unpretending little favourite. 



Next to the Golden-crested Wren it is the smallest British 

 bird, and the most graceful in form, with a long slender curved 

 beak, a very diminutive elegant body, plumage brown above and 

 white below, and a stiff sharp-pointed tail bending downwards, 

 and supporting it in its climbings, after the manner of that of the 

 Woodpecker. Its note is a gentle monotonous chirp, which it 

 continues to repeat during its incessant rambles on the stems and 

 branches of the trees ; otherwise it is the most silent of birds, 

 seldom heard at all in winter, and in summer little above the 

 faintest whisper. Perhaps it has no time for singing, for it is one 

 of the most restless of birds, never still for an instant ; and a most 

 expert and indefatigable climber, its long claws, well curved and 

 strong, enabling it to cling to the rough bark, at whatever angle 

 the branch may be, whether vertical, horizontal, or oblique. 



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