36 cassell's book of birds. 



wonderful activity of which it is capable. Its cry closely resembles that of the Golden-crested Wrea 

 Towards man it exhibits the utmost friendliness, and frequently ventures close to his dwellings, or even 

 occasionally makes its nest within some tempting hole in an old house or wall. 



During the summer the temperament of the Tree Creeper is joyous and brisk, but wintry weather 

 .soon renders it dull and uneasy. No doubt this very visible discomfort arises in some measure from 

 ■die impossibility of keeping its feathers in the neat, trim state in which it delights at other seasons of 

 ihe year. 



Holes and fissures are usually employed by this species, both for building purposes and as 

 .•sleeping places. The nest, which varies considerably in size, is formed of dry twigs, grass, leaves, 

 straw, or bark, woven together wth spiders' webs, and lined with feathers and fibres of various kinds. 

 The chamber of the young is round and deep, and so compactly and neatly finished off as to render it 

 a real work of art. The brood consists of eight or nine white eggs, spotted with red, and deceptively 

 like those of the Titmouse. Both parents assist in the labour of incubation, and feed their hungry 

 family with great devotion. The young usually remain for a long time in the nest, but if alarmed will 

 scramble out, and hurry along the branches to some safe retreat, even before they are fully fledged. 

 The female lays twice during die summer, the first time about April, and again in June. The second 

 brood rarely consists of more than from three to five eo-gs. 



THE SABRE-BILL. 



The Sabre-bill {Xiphorhynchus trochilirostris) is readily known by its unusually long, slender, 

 sickle-shaped beak, and short tail. The wings, in which the fourth quill is the longest, are also com- 

 paratively short, and the legs are slender. The tongue is short, and broad at its tip. The plumage is of 

 a dull olive-brown, streaked with yellowish white on the head, throat, and breast ; the wings and tail 

 are deep reddish bro^vn ; the eye is brown, the beak reddish brown, and the foot of a dull brownish 

 hue. This species is nine inches and a half long, and eleven and a quarter broad : the wing measures 

 three inches and three-quarters, the tail three inches and a quarter, ftnd the beak two inches and 

 one-third. 



"I found this strange bird," says the Prince von Wied, "in the vast, unbroken forests that extend 

 from Ilheos to Bahia, where it lives in pairs upcp the t^ees from vrhich it gathers the insects and 

 beetles upon which it subsists." 



THE WOODPECKER TREE-CHOPPER, 



The Woodpecker Tree-chopper {Dendroplex picus) is recognisable by its straight, pointed beak, 

 which is much compressed at its sides, and furnished with a high sharp ridge at its culmen. The wing 

 -is comparatively short, the tail long, and the foot large. The plumage is entirely of a reddish brown, 

 the feathers on the head, throat, and breast being enlivened by broad white patches, surrounded by a 

 greyish brown margin. This bird is eight inches long ; the wing measures four and the tail three 

 inches. 



The Dendropkx picus is found over almost the whole of South America, and everywhere frequents 

 the primitive forests, obtaining its food from the bark of trees, after the manner of the True Wood- 

 peckers. At the conclusion of the breeding season it quits its native fastnesses with its companions, 

 and ventures freely down, even near the abode of man. The voice is clear, but confined to one 

 note. The eggs are laid in the holes of trees. 



The WOODPECKERS (Pidda), the last group of the tree-climbing races, possess a slender 

 body and powerful beak, which is usually straight, conical, and furnished with a sharp ridge at its 



