When I see a new bird, I'm usually pretty good at figuring out what class it is so I can find it in my bird book, but I don't know even where to begin to look for this one.

There was a small bird in my tree, moving upward along the trunk. At first I thought it was a nuthatch, but then I noticed its beak. It was about an inch long and slightly curved downward. So it was the size of a nuthatch, slender, with a tail a few inches long, and brown with white spots all over its back and wings.

I'm near Portland. We have some tall conifers nearby and usually see chickadees, nuthatches, and juncos in summer.