10 
BEAUTIFUL BIEUS. 
or creeps quietly along the outline of the trunk, witli 
a rapid uniform motion, its tail bent inwards towards 
the tree, now and then peeping round to take a 
glimpse of the spectator. It will often flutter down 
after it has ascended a few feet, and again alight near 
the ground, ascending the same tree several times in 
different directions. It creeps with wonderful ease 
along or across the lower side of a horizontal bough, 
inserting its slender bill into the cracks and crevices 
of the bark, and there finding abundance of minute 
insects and larvae, chiefly of the coleopterous order, 
which in such situations often lurk in perfect security 
from the attacks of most other insectivorous birds. 
Sometimes the little Creeper may be descried searching 
the topmost branches of a tall tree, anon examining the 
smaller twigs and sprays, and again the same inde- 
fatigable little creature may be seen creeping about 
upon a lichen-covered paling, pulling out minute 
spiders from their lurking-holes, and drawing forth 
the tiny inhabitants of every chink and cranny. 
The Tree Creeper seems to hold on upon the 
vertical bole of a tree much in the manner of a cat, 
by means of its front claws, and can only descend a 
steep declivity in the same way as that animal does, 
backwards ; the form of its claws preventing its taking 
a very firm hold with the head downwards ; and, ac- 
cordingly, though very commonly observed to ascend 
the same tree many times successively in diflerent di- 
rections, it never creeps down again like the Nuthatch, 
but always flutters down again and again as soon as it 
has got to a certain height, and re-alights, as it did the 
first time, near the ground.* 
* British Cyclopaedia. 
