THE BROWN CREEPER 



In the bands of little birds which in winter visit the trees 

 about the houses, there are often three different species, all of which 

 find their food on the trunks or large limbs of trees, but by such 

 different methods that a study of their habits is not only interesting 

 but also extremely instructive. The little Downy Woodpecker, like 

 all its tribe, hitches up the trunk or along the upper side of the limb, 

 using its stiff tail feathers as a support, and holding on to the bark 

 by its two pairs of sharp claws. The Nuthatch, with a short weak 

 tail, and toes arranged as in all song birds, three in front and one 

 behind, has the toes, however, spread so wide that it can climb head 

 downward, over, under, or around the limb. Least known of the 

 three is the Brown Creeper. It, too, has three toes in front and one 

 behind, but although not related to the Woodpeckers, it has developed 

 stiff and pointed tail feathers. It therefore clings to the bark in an 

 upright position, and it commonly begins at the bottom of the tree 

 and works steadily upward, often in a spiral. 



During the winter months, the Brown Creeper probably visits 

 every village street and every city park in the Northern States, but 

 as it is just the color of the weathered bark and moves close to it, it 

 escapes the notice of nearly every one. If one learns to distinguish 

 the fine wiry note, and watches the tree from which it proceeds, one 

 sees the bird flutter to the base of a neighboring tree and begin 

 again its steady ascent. When two birds are together, they some- 

 times indulge in a very pretty flight, and tumble in the air like 

 pigeons. As a rule, however, the Creeper is solitary, and, in this 



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