THE COMMON TREE-CREEPER. 189 



grass-stems, working them well together, and then flying for a fresh load as soon as its mate 

 has arrived. It feeds principally on insects, having a special liking for those of the beetle kind. 



There is an allied genus of Oven-birds, termed Cinclodes, the members of which are 

 found upon the western coasts of South America, and generally frequent the sea-shore, where 

 they feed uijon the smaller crustaceans and mollusks. They are rather daring little birds, and 

 wiU seek their prey at some distance from the shore, perching upon the fronds of floating sea- 

 weed, and i^ecking out the various marine creatures that are always to be found in such local- 

 ities. Like the true Oven-birds, they are careless of the presence of man, and are so fearless 

 that they can almost be taken by hand. Indeed, one voyager relates that he killed ten of 

 these little birds with a stick ^vithout any difliculty, and hardly having to change his position. 



Akothek small group of the Certhi(Ke is known to zoologists by the title of Stnallaxine 

 Birds, and distinguished by the greater length of the outer toe, and its juncture to the middle 

 toe nearly as far as the first joint. The hinder toe is long and rather powerful, and all the 

 claws are sharply curved, pointed, and strong. The tail is rather long, and is almost always 

 nointed, like that of the common creeper. 



The Synallaxine birds are inhabitants of ti-opical America, and, like the oven-birds, are 

 notable for the very curious nests which they construct. Although these birds are of small 

 dimensions, they all build nests which might easily be attiibuted to the labors of some hawk 

 or crow. The nest of one species is often from three to four feet in length, and is placed very 

 openly in some low bush, where it escapes notice on account of its resemblance to a bunch of 

 loose sticks thrown carelessly together by the wind. In its interior, however, the edifice is 

 very carefully made, and, lUve the nest of the oven-birds, is divided into two recesses, the eggs 

 being laid in the inner apartment, upon a bed of soft feathers. 



The Synallaxine birds are generally found upon the trees, which they traverse with great 

 rapidity in search of the various insects on which they feed, and may often be seen running 

 about upon the ground, peering anxiously into every little hole and cranny, and dragging 

 slugs, snails, worms, and beetles from the recesses in which they are accustomed to conceal 

 themselves during the hours of daylight. 



Another very small group of the Creepers is represented by the Curved-billed Creeper, 

 a bird about the size of a blackbird, which is found in the forests of Brazil. 



It is chiefly remarkable from the curiously-foimed bill, which is very long in proportion 

 to the size of the bird, and is curved in a manner that can best be represented by the form 

 of a sickle. The bill, although so much elongated, is possessed of considerable sti-ength, 

 and is evidently employed for the purpose of drawing the insects on which the creature feeds 

 from the crevices of the bark in which they dwell. As is indicated by the stiff and sharply- 

 pointed feathers of the tail, the Curved-billed Creeper is in the habit of traversing the trunks 

 of trees, and is able to support itself in a perpendicular position by hooking its long curved 

 claws into the inequalities of the bark, and resting the weight of its body upon the stiff tail- 

 feathers. The general color of this bird is brown, with a wash of cinnamon upon the greater 

 part of the surface. The head and neck are of a grayer brown, and spotted with white. 



We now arrive at the true Creepers, of which birds the Common Tree-Creeper is an 

 excellent example. 



This little bird is one of the prettiest and most interesting of the feathered tribes that are 

 found in Europe. It is a very small bird, hardly so large as a sparrow, and beautifully slender 

 in shape. The bill is rather long, pointed, and curved, and the tail-feathers are stiff and 

 pointed at their extremities. The food of the Creeper consists chiefly of insects, although the 

 bird will sometimes vary its diet by seeds and other vegetable substances. The insects on 

 which it feeds live principally under the bark of various rough-skinned trees, and when it is 

 engaged in running after its food, it runs spirally up the trunk with wonderful ease and 

 celerity, probing every crevice with ready adroitness, its whole frame instinct with sparkling 



