. Reptiles and birds. A popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting. . s Humming-bird{Oriiis7nya Goiddii) \ Cora Humming-bird (yOrnis7nya cora)\ theGiant Humming-bird, which attains the size of the Swallow; theDwarf Humming-bird, whose size does not exceed that of a bee; thebar-tailed Humming-bird or Sapho Comet (Cometes sparga7iurus, ), a native of Eastern Peru; and the Racket-tailed Humming-bird, so named from the shape of its tail, which spreads out at theextremity in the form of a racket. Chmbers {Scansores)^ such as th
. Reptiles and birds. A popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting. . s Humming-bird{Oriiis7nya Goiddii) \ Cora Humming-bird (yOrnis7nya cora)\ theGiant Humming-bird, which attains the size of the Swallow; theDwarf Humming-bird, whose size does not exceed that of a bee; thebar-tailed Humming-bird or Sapho Comet (Cometes sparga7iurus, ), a native of Eastern Peru; and the Racket-tailed Humming-bird, so named from the shape of its tail, which spreads out at theextremity in the form of a racket. Chmbers {Scansores)^ such as the Tree Creepers, are characterised THE CREEPERS. 469 by an arched beak and a stiff tapering tail. The family compre-hends several genera and sub-genera, of which the principal arethe Creepers {Certhia), properly so called, the Wall Creepers {^Ticho-droma\ the Piculets (Picuj?imis), the Oven Birds {Furnarius), theThornbills {Rhamphomicron), the Sun Birds {Nectari?ta), and the Nut-hatches {Sitta). The Creepers (Cei^thia) are small climbing birds which live andbuild their nests in the holes they bore in the trunks or in the natural. Fig 189 —Oven Birds hollows of trees : the insects to be found under the bark being theirfood. Looking at the form of their slender beak, it is difficult toimagine how it can penetrate the hard covering of an oak, for whichthey exhibit a marked preference. The Common Tree Creeper{Certhia familiaris, Fig. 188) is spread over nearly every Europeancountry, and is very common in France. The Wall Creeper (Ticho-droma murarius), called also Wall Climber (the grimpereau desmurailles of French authors), owes its name to its habit of climbingthe walls of dwellings. Supporting-points are not found in theirtails, as in the Woodpeckers. Grasping the tree with their claws,they assist their feet by a slight movement of the wings. They feedon insects, and lead a solitary life on the mountains, only descending 470 REPTILES AND BIRDS. into the plains with the early f
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