29 
CERTHIA. 
CirTHia, Linn., Lath., Gmel., Cuv., Dumer. 
CHARACTER GENERICUS. 
Rostrum aycuatum, tenue, acutum ; mandibule equales. 
Pedes ambulatoru; digitis tribus anticis, uno postica 
majore; ungues longi, arcuati, compress. 
CREEPER. 
GENERIC CHARACTER. 
Beak slender, sharp, and bent; the mandibles equal. 
feet formed for walking, with three toes before, and one 
behind larger than the others; claws long, bent, and com- 
pressed. 
The Creepers form an elegant and very natural assemblage 
of birds, many of which are remarkable for the gaiety and 
splendor of their colours. The food of the genuine Certhie 
consists entirely of insects, in search of which they are con- 
tinually running up and down the trunks of trees. 
They are found in most parts of the world; their nests 
are generally placed in some’ hollow, and are composed of 
-moss or dry grass, lined sometimes with materials of a 
softer nature. 
Some authors have confounded this genus with Trochilus 
(Humming-bird), from which it may readily be distinguished | 
by the acuteness of its beak, which part in the Humming- 
bird is always more or less blunt. 
Latham states the number of tail-feathers as ten, but in 
our indigenous species Certhia familiaris, and in all the 
F 
