OUR HOME BIRDS. 
261 
mouse than of a bird, darting like a great moth from 
tree to tree, uttering a faint trilling sound as it fixes 
on their boles, running round them in a spiral direc- 
tion, when, with repeated wriggles having gained the 
summit, it darts to the base of another and com- 
mences again/ ” 
“ Well, I should think,” said Malcolm, “ that it had 
better act more like a bird, if it is one. If I could fly, 
I wouldn’t be crawling around in that fashion.” 
“ All birds cannot fly alike,” replied the governess, 
“and the flying powers of the brown creeper are evi- 
dently limited. It is only five inches long, and the 
upper part of the head is of a deep brownish-black, 
and the back brown, both being streaked with white ; 
the light, drab-colored tail is quite as long as the body, 
and the bill is half an inch long, tapering to a point. 
“ The nest is built in the hollow trunk or branch 
of a tree, but as this bird is not provided with any 
conveniences for digging, he always selects a tree 
that has been shivered or had a branch broken off, 
or where squirrels or woodpeckers have already 
made a hole for him. There are seven eggs of a 
dull brown, marked with small dots of reddish-yel- 
low and streaks of dark brown, which seems to be 
the favorite color of the creepers. It is quite funny 
to see the great caution with which the young ones 
take their first views of the world, creeping about 
