214 
CERTHIINtE. certhia. 
rounded, the first quill short ; tail of moderate length, 
rounded. 
GENUS LXX. CERTHIA. TEEE-CEEEPER. 
Bill rather long, very slender, suhtrigonal, tapering, ar- 
cuate, much compressed, acute ; upper mandible with its dor- 
sal line arcuate, the ridge yery narrow, the edges sharp, 
without notch ; lower mandible with the angle very narrow, 
the dorsal line decurved ; gape-line arcuate. Tongue long, 
narrow, sagittate, tapering, lacerate, acute ; oesophagus of 
moderate width ; stomach elliptical, muscular ; intestine very 
short ; coeca very small. Nostrils linear-oblong, exposed. 
Eyes of moderate size. Head ovato-oblong ; nech short ; 
body small. Tarsus slender, compressed, with seven scu- 
tella, the upper indistinct ; toes rather large, extremely com- 
pressed ; hind toe very large, second much shorter than 
fourth, anterior united at the base ; claws very long, arched, 
extremely compressed, laterally grooved, very acute. Plu- 
mage very soft, blended ; wings rather long, convex, much 
rounded, of nineteen quills, the first short, the fourth and 
fifth longest ; tail long, of twelve slightly arched, stiffish, 
pointed feathers. 
138 . Certhia familiaris. Brown Tree-creeper. 
Upper part of the head dark brown, neck and back yellow- 
ish-brown, each feather with a median whitish streak ; rump 
yellowish-red ; wings with a transverse whitish band ; lower 
parts silvery white. Young similar, but with the feathers 
more loose, and the tints duller. 
Male, 8, ii-? if* Pemale, 5y^, 7s* 
The Brown Tree-creeper is permanently resident in all the 
wmoded parts of the country, but nowhere numerous. It 
alights at the bottom of a tree, clinging to the bark with its 
claws, ascends by short starts, leaping forward as it were, and 
supporting itself by pressing its tail against the bark. Its 
food consists of insects, larvae, and pupae, which it finds in the 
crevices. On ordinary occasions it pays little attention to a 
person intruding upon its haunts, and may thus be easily shot. 
Its nest is placed in some hole in a tree, or rock, or among 
the roots in a mossy bank, and is composed of grass, moss, 
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