)&)Z CERTHIAD.E. 



About the month of March the Tree Creepers resort to the 

 woods for the purpose of breeding ; and, if they meet with 

 willows of a large size, they are sure to select them as a 

 locality for their nests. A narrow slit or crack in the tree is 

 generally the situation in which the nest is placed. ; but we 

 have found a nest between two adjoining stems of a yew tree, 

 which were growing up together, and another nest between 

 two adjacent portions of wooden palings. In both instances 

 the nest was very much compressed, as though it had. by 

 some chance been squeezed together. An old deserted hole 

 of some titmouse is a welcome nursery, to which the Tree 

 Creeper wall return the following year ; but although they 

 have generally two broods in the year, they are not known to 

 deposit their eggs in the same nest twice during the same 

 summer. The nest is composed of small dry roots and twigs, 

 thin bark of trees, straw, and dry blades of grass, which are 

 all interwoven with spiders' webs and the remains of the 

 cocoons of caterpillars, and the inner lining is of the latter 

 soft material, and feathers of various sizes : where there is 

 but little room, the feathers are sometimes dispensed with ; 

 but the bark of trees is always present, and is thus a charac- 

 teristic mark of distinction. 



At the first brood the female generally deposits from 

 eight to nine eggs ; at the second, rarely ever more than four 

 or five, which are hatched in thirteen days, both the male and 

 female bird sitting by turns on the eggs. 



The young brood is fed with small caterpillars ; and they 

 remain in the nest until they are fully fledged, although it is 

 long before the tail has completely attained to its full size, as 

 it grows much more slowly than the other feathers. If the 

 young are disturbed, they crawl out of the nest up the tree ; 

 but if they should fall to the ground, they run quickly 

 amongst the grass and hide themselves, and are almost certain 

 to make their escape. When they quit the nest at the 



