WHY NECK.
usually within a far clays or the Cuckoo, accounts for its being termed, in certain districts, the Cuckoo's
For breeding-purposes these birds resort to holes in trees, making use of those that are formed by accident
or decay; at times they take up their quarters iu the deserted domicile of the Woodpecker. I have never
detected any materials brought in to form a cradle for tho young, though I notice some writers mention the
nest of this species.
C R E E P E R .
CERTHIA FAMILIARIS.
I CANNOT call to mind noticing tho Creeper in Caithness or anion!- the Hebrides, Willi these exception",
I have found this active species scattered over tho wooded portions of most of the English and Scotch
counties from Sussex to Sutherland.
These birds, I believe, seldom stray far from the district they frequent; I have on but few occasions seen
them, unless in the vicinity of trees of considerable size or age. During autumn and winter they now and
then join in company for a time with the Books of various kinds of Tits that are to bo seen busily engaged
in searching for insect food through the woods and coverts. Their habit of commencing to hunt the Lover
portion of the trunk of a tree, gradually working upwards, and rapidly dis•pmaring round Ibe stem if
alarmed, readily indicates the species if intermixed with other small birds. When the upper branches aru
reached they Hit downwards towards the ne\t tree they intend to search, and In this manner work their
way through the woods. Their association with the Panda; is usually of but short duration should their
companions be inclined to shift their quarters to any distance, I hum uolieed this in the Highlands when a
river was crossed by the main flock, and also in Sussex, where the change was but from one plantation to
another.
Since tho above lines were written, I remarked a Creeper in company with Coal Tits as early In the season
as the 9th of August. My attention was first attracted by the lively party of eight or ten Tits flitting through
tho branches of a beech-grove in the interior of Sussex. I was somewhat astonished when, a few moments
later, a single Creeper made his appearance, steadily working his way from tree to tree, and keeping pace
with the Tits as they advanced. Owing to the dense foliage, it was by no means easy to retain the lards in
view; but I managed to watch the Tits to the end of a ride that led through the wood, when they turned
back and disappeared in the thick cover. As far as I could judge, the Creeper parted from the rest of the
company at this point, and struck out a line for himself.
Insects appear to be the principal support of the old birds ; and I could detect that they brought no other
food to their young when I have watched them engaged in supplying their wants.
For nesting-purposes this species resorts to a variety of situations. Holes in old timber, or the gaps
between the slabs in a (by stone dyke*, are frequently made use of in tho Highlands. I have also seen
the nest in the cavities among the roots of an old dead stump. In this instance the birds had chosen a
subterranean domicile, as the nest was some distance below the level of the ground. In Sussex, on two
or three occasions in remote country districts, I met with nests placed in wooden dwelling-houses and al-o
in sheds. In one ease a knot had dropped out of the limber and afforded an entrance to the spot selected;
but usually a rotten or defective plank supplied the means of ingress. Their nest is not elaborately put
together; hut is usually a warm and cosy collection of grass, wool, and feathers, screened by its hidden position
from all effects of wind and weather.