or Snow-bird, still they will not fly away from the
presence of unmolesting persons.

The Brown Creeper has not the bill suitable to excavate a hole for
himself, so he is obliged to find a hollow trunk, a squirrel's nest, or a
deserted Woodpecker's home. Here the little bird builds a nest of dry
twigs and lays its pretty eggs.

As the mid-winter cold deepens they retire to the depths of the woods, or
into the brown and sheltered thickets, where their little cry of "_Chip,
chip_," and "_Cree, cree, cree_," may be frequently heard; and very
pleasant it is, too. Very useful they are, these little Brown Creepers,
as well as the Chickadees and Nuthatches, for they help preserve our
beautiful trees and shrubbery from the destroying worms and insects.

I have mentioned the Nuthatches. These birds, a little larger than the
others before noticed, are not so numerous as the Chickadees and
Snow-birds, but they are very interesting. The name of Nuthatches was
given to them long ago, because it was supposed they broke the wood nuts
by repeated _hatchings_ or hammerings with their bills. But now men of
science, who study birds, do not think that is true, and believe the
Nuthatches to be wrongly named.

[Illustration: NUTHATCHES.]

It was also thought that the Nuthatches, like the squirrels, lay up in
the summer a store of nuts for their winter use. But this also is
doubted, since the Nuthatch will climb along the trees and limbs in
search of insects and larvae when the tree hangs full of nuts. So it is
thought their principal food is composed of ants, seeds of various
shrubbery, bugs and insects.

While the female bird is sitting on her eggs, the male Nuthatch displays
a great deal of care and affection, supplying her regularly with the
choicest food he can collect. With this he flies away to the mouth of the
hole where they have established their home, and calls to her so
tenderly, offering her the delicacy he has brought. He seems to call to
her sometimes, simply to inquire how she is, and to soothe her labors
with his incessant chatter. Seldom does he venture far from the nest, and
if any danger threatens he instantly flies back to alarm her.

The white-breasted Nuthatch is known by his cry of "_quank, quank_,"
repeated frequently as he keeps moving along the branches of a tree,
piercing the bark with his bill and breaking off pieces in search of
insects and their larvae.

This affectionate bird, like the little Chickadee