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parts of Germany, however, both Ibrms occur near each other, as, for example, in 

 Saxony and Hessen. In these countries the ('. fa mil iuris is chiefly found in the 

 pine- and fir-woods, and in higher elevations, while C. brachi/dartijla is mosth' met 

 with in the valleys, on the oaks, willows, etc., and in the gardens. Kleinschmidt, 

 FlOricke, and Deichler are convinced that C.familiaris is the bird of the pine- and 

 fir-woods, while C. brachi/dactyla is the form of the leafy woods, parks, and gardens. 

 On the whole they seem to be quite right in their conclusions, but this difference 

 in the haunts of the two forms must not be considered to be an unchangeable law. 

 C. hrachjdactyla was met with near Wesel in woods of pine and fir as well as in 

 gardens; C.J'amiUarinvi often found among the beeches, and in East Prussia I have 

 also shot it in mixed woods and gardens. On the whole (\ hrachydactyla is a 

 more western bird, and it seems not to occur in high altitudes. Intermediate forms 

 are evidently rare, but they occur. C. L. Brehm, E. F. von Homeyer, Kleinschmidt, 

 and others have declared that the two forms can easily be distinguished by their 

 call-notes. 1 have not had the opportunity to hear them, as they have had, close 

 together, therefore I dare not speak on this point with confidence, nor is my ear 

 musical enough to remember the exact height or depth of such a fine note many 

 days afterwards, so as to exactly compare it with that heard on the later occasion, 

 but I have a notion that the British creeper's note difiers a little from that of any 

 I have ever heard on the Continent. I recommend this for observation to those 

 who have very fine musical ears. It would also seem, from the doubts that have 

 been cast on the British creepers being able to sing, that they do not so often utter 

 their feeble little though jiretty song as their Continental cousins do. In any case 

 the creepers sing everywhere in the spring, beginning in January or February, 

 as all field-ornithologists must know. 



Unfortunately 1 have not enough material of South-Euroirean Ccrtkiae to say 

 whether only one or two forms occur there. However I have not seen typical 

 C. hraclnjdactijla from South Europe. All the (\ Jamiliaiis I have seen from South 

 Europe seem to have a little darker brown ground-colour above, but otherwise 

 are not different from typical ( '. Jamiliaiis. They' seem to agree with birds from 

 Switzerland and from the mountain-ranges in Southern Germany. If it were possible 

 to separate them, they would have to be called G.fnmiliuris costac (Bailly) (1847). 

 Brehm's name, C. macrodacfi/la {Handh. Viig. DeufsM. p. 208, 1831), is, like so 

 many of Brehm's names, somewhat uncertain, and cannot reasonably be used for it, 

 though Stejneger (JJ. S. Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 607) claims priority for it. C. nattereri 

 Bonaparte (1838) is a nomen nudum, and when used again in 18.50 it was preceded 

 by C. rostae of Bailly. 



Crossing the Channel we find in Great Britain a form which is very closely 

 allied to C. hrachydactyla, but differs in being above darker, with the rump much 

 more tawny rufous, and in having on an average distinctly shorter bills. They are, 

 sometimes, not easy to distinguish from Dutch specimens, but if a series is compared 

 the difierences are evident. 



Proceeding from the west to the east, we find in Siberia a form which is very near 

 to Swedish C. familiaris, but which has more white above. It is known under the 

 name of C. scandulaca of Pallas, and ])robably extends as far west as East Prussia. 



Proceeding farther eastwards still, to Japan, we find again two forms : in the 

 northern island Yezzo one said to be the same as ('. fumiUaris scandidaca, and in 

 the southern parts one in which the light markings above are smaller and tinged 

 with tawnv, and in which tlie under tail-coverts and lower abdomen are tinged with 



