Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1921-03-17
The Brown Creeper.

.ps VINEYARDS, apple oTSldluS am
catches. but these do not belong
,' -. ratural scheme of things; they
-, .,,ifcial growths reared by man
-. berries and fruit in general that
.,,. IN the world of nature are for
:. birds to select from and feast upon
,5sy will. Hence the question al
arises. should men kill birds re-
..4,sss of their values insect de-
'..,rsrs because they steal a few
,.,,es? Berry growers kill a number
- birds found vandalizing their fields.
The rvjiv sides of apples will also be
Jared and pecked ino by the birds,
Inns spoiling them for sale in the mar
tet This is exasperating and merits
-, le-nnation. but the hand is STAYED b.
mo inevitable thuoght that rises in most
minds. that in spite of the small harm
doos the actual value of these birds
should not be cheaply or scorrfully
,eckoned Raspberries, blackberries
and currantS in season are relished b"
many birds. and often as not the robin
= &c crimson around his beak with
berry stains as any lad who ever insert
ed his face in a jam-jar. The robin is
= pround-feeding bird; and doubt If
there is a more active destroyer Of the
ru,yorm than the robin, though of
course here we have to consider the
toad which holds first place, cutworms
being with the toad foremost on his bill
of fare. am of the belief that save
for the toads and the robins the cut
worm would be veritable scourge and
would clip down every garden plant
close to the ground. Through count
less centuries of adapting itself to its
surroundings it has come to be that the
cutwOrm issues forth only at night; so
nature, all-wise nature, counteracts by
sending forth the toad at night to keep
down the surplus and so preserve the
unalterable law of balance and pro-
portion But likewise she has sent the
robin to run along the earth and help
BY day while the mad is at rest. See
the robin turning leaves, Jumps Of wood
and grass and digging them out; but
the berry grower pays no attention to
whether the robin is working on the
urpunI on 10
The brown creeper, Certhia famil-
arS americana, is always with us in the
land OF snow, but by reason of its re-
firing disposition and its ability to keep
out OF sight one sees very few Of them.
Nevertheless there are numbers of
them busy in every wood in our nor
tneTn region; and two or three Of them
at one time have been around my seed
boxes though have never noticed that
Uey nave taken a seed. They come
mercy to pay visit. Seeing so many
Nls tending this way they like to
FOLLOW the crowd" They loiter
around clinglng to the tree bark and
lake all The time in the world to explore
every inch of the wood they cover. The
Uro"n cTeeper generally starts at the
Uo''on OF 4 tree and works upward;
Almost inevitably he starts at the bot
'Oh'' He IS never really Aighty or
nervous. have passed one just start
'"g IN at the roots and two hours later
nave nocd with surprise the same fell
"" al 1t, though by this time we'll up
vi inc tree. He is exceedingly pains
'aA!ng He hates to leave tree
uH'l ne is sure thatthere are no crevices
'e'' uninveStigated. He works up the
"ee IN a spiral fashion, the upward,
,Uu"l-aoout fashion of corkscrew.
Ills OIL is slender and curved. The
''dSOn Tor this is that il can be worked
1 ,', me side galleries that the straight
C'''el birds cannot reach. When he
Io's probe in hole he feels around in
y. ana You can rest doubly assured
."' II there is living thing therein
~ VIII nip it. Is it not wonderful? First
sv'''' the straight birds to
S'esn the outer surface. Next come
we especially equipped birds to work
'"o the galleries.
Inc brown creeper is a forsaken,
ar"'' fellow; does not indulge in any
,,''".'c melodies-a persistent, never
g. N Hiugger, one of the greatest
,,'.-N u man. In coloration he is
'"10d-Whlte underneath, with a back
,.g ~ nrownlsh, striped with gray. The
49, ana wings are reddish brown, the
NS Partially relieved with gray. 1t
% '''"'Tkable how this coloration mer-
- J" with the hue of the wood it
t, o'AS upon. Standing at lively dis
'' You can positively swear tiere is
"'Sa'hcrcd creature WORKING nm the tree