190 



HABITS OF THE TREE-CREEPER. 



eagerness, and its little black eyes glancing with the exuberance of its delight. While rur 

 ning on the side of the tree which is nearest to the sj^ectator, it j^resents a very curious appear- 

 ance, as its dark-brown back and c[nick tiipping movements give it a great resemblance to 

 a mouse, and ever and anon, as it comes again into sight from the opposite side of the trunk, 

 its beautifully white breast gleams suddenly in contrast with the sombre-colored bark. Its 

 eyes are wonderfully keen, as it will discern insects of so minute a form that the human eye 

 can hardly perceive them, and it seems to possess some instinctive mode of detecting the 

 presence of its insect prey beneath moss or lichens, and will perseveringly bore through the 

 substance in which they are liidden, never failing to secure them at last. 



The Creei)er is a very timid bird, and if it is alarmed at the sight of a human being, it will 



either fly off to a distant 

 tree, or will quietly slip 

 round the trunk of tlie 

 tree on which it is run- 

 ning, and keep itself 

 carefully out of sight. 

 It soon, however, gains 

 confidence, and, pro- 

 vided that the spectator 

 remains perfectly quiet, 

 the little head and white 

 l)reast may soon be seen 

 jieering anxiously rox;nd 

 the trunk, and in a few 

 minutes the bird will re- 

 sume its progress upon 

 the tree, and run clieer- 

 ily up the bark, ac("om- 

 panying itself with its 

 faint trilling song. It 

 seldom attempts a long 

 flight, seeming to con- 

 tent itself with flitting 

 from tree to tree. 

 Although so timid a bird, the Creeper soon becomes familiarized with those whom it 

 is accustomed to see, provided that they treat it kindly, and will even come to receive food 

 from their hands. In one instance that has come to my knowledge, the little birds wei'e seen 

 to frequent the patches of gum that exude from the bark of several trees, and in one spot 

 where a number of small liranches united, so as to form a kind of cup or hollow, a little heap 

 of gum was found, whicli seemed to have been placed there l)y the Ci'eepers, as they were 

 constantly seen haunting the spot. Feeling sure that the birds fed upon the gum, the specta- 

 tors used to supply tlieir larder not only with gum, but with crumbs of bread, different seeds, 

 and little morsels of raw meat, which disappeared as regularly as they were jirovided. 



Some persons have supposed that in climbing the trees it uses its beak, after the manner 

 of the parrots and other climbing birds. This, however, is not the case, as the beak is only 

 employed for the purpose of pi'obing the bark, and the whole progression is acliieved by means 

 of the long, cui-ved, and shai'i^ly-pointed claws, wliich retain their hold so lirnily, that I have 

 seen a Creeper hang by its claws after it had "been shot, and remain firmly fixed to the bark 

 long after life had fled. 



The Creeper is a very nervous bird, and may be temporarily paralyzed by a smart blow 

 given to the tree or branch on which it is running. Expert bird-catching boys will often 

 secure this bird by flinging a stone or heavy stick at the tree, and then pouncing on the bird 

 before it has recovered from its alarm. It can even be struck from its hold by suddenly 

 running round the tree, and delivering a sharp blow upon the part of the trunk on which it is 



COMMON TREE-CREEPER.— CertAia fmniliaris. 



