THE WOODPECKER AND CREEPER. 235 



This little creature is called the Creeper, and well he 

 deserves the name, for he is incessantly ' creeping ' over 

 the timber in search of his insect food. Besides seeing 

 him in the deepest woods, we ofttimes notice him in the 

 open places, notably the well-wooded parks, and in 

 gardens and orchards he is quite common. He is such 

 an unobtrusive little creature, too, that I fear he is often 

 overlooked or mistaken for the Wren. We see him in his 

 garb of mottled brown commence operations at the foot of 

 the tree, and travel upwards in short stages, now stopping 

 to pick out an insect lurking in the crevices of the bark 

 with his long slender bill, or returning head downwards 

 to pounce on an unwary fly. Up again he creeps, more 

 like a mouse than a bird, occasionally uttering a low 

 and plaintive note : right to the top of the tree he 

 mounts, exploring every nook and cranny likely to re- 

 ward his search as he goes. Now he creeps on the 

 under side of a projecting limb, then again on the top, 

 and although he will explore an entire tree, still he but 

 rarely uses his wings to convey him from one part to 

 another. You will also find that he, like the Wood- 

 pecker, endeavours to be on the opposite side to you, 

 and carry on his explorations unseen. Yet every now 

 and then curiosity seems to get the better of him, and 

 you see his light coloured breast and sharp little head 

 peep trustfully at you and again vanish from sight. 

 The Creeper does not confine his labours to decayed 

 timber, for he explores every tree in his way, sound and 

 decayed alike, flitting from one to the other in drooping 

 flight, uttering his twittering notes as he goes. Most 

 perfectly is the Creeper adapted to his ways of life. 

 His bill is admirably formed for obtaining the insects 

 lurking amongst the crevices of the bark, and his tail. 



