Then, as there are ground-feeders among the perchers, so, too, there are _climbers_, for the Creepers, the Wryneck, and the Nuthatch, run up and down the trees, feeding on insects and nuts, which the nuthatch breaks so cleverly with his beak; and we might almost fancy them to be first cousins to the woodpeckers, if it were not for their three toes in front and long claw behind, and their short thick beak and tail. Even the little Wren, with her cocked-up tail, imitates the climbers as she creeps through the hedges and underwood, though she is a true perching bird, and builds one of the most perfect of nests of moss and grass, woven into the shape of a ball, with a tiny hole for a door. Then, to match the _darting_ birds, we have the Swallow and the Fly Catcher which follow insects on the wing, so that the swallow and swift were long confounded together, though the skeleton of the swallow shows that it belongs to perching birds. Again, the Shrike imitates the birds of prey, feeding on small mice, reptiles, and birds, and impaling them upon a sharp thorn while he tears them to pieces with his beak. Yet he is a true percher, singing as beautifully as many of the smaller birds, and he is even said to use his power of song to lure victims within reach. Lastly, and perhaps most curious of all, the little Dipper or Water-Ouzel, with his clear loud song, and his structure so like to the thrushes, has actually taken to the habits of water-birds, and dives into the depths of the river, running along upon the bottom and feeding on water-snails and water-insects. [Illustration: Fig. 46. Nest of the Tailor-Bird[107] of India or China.] All these we find among English birds; and if we had space to speak of other countries, we should find the same history there, for the more we study bird-life the more we find that these Perchers are its highest types, and have learned to make the most of their kingdom. It is they who build the most perfect nests, from the rough strong basket-work of the crow or the magpie, to the wren’s thickly-woven ball, or the finches’ matted cups; while in America the Hang-nests weave their lovely pear-shaped homes, and suspend them like fruit from the tips of the branches; and in India and China the Tailor-birds actually sew leaves together with cotton fibre or cobweb threads, which they draw through with their slender bill and strengthen with saliva.