BROWN CREEPER. 585 



basal, naked, pierced in grooves, and half closed by a small mem- 

 brane. TojvGUE acute. Feet slender, inner toe free, and somewhat 

 shorter than the outer ; hind toe longer and more robust ; the nails 

 much curved, that of the hind toe largest. 1VingsTa.ih.eT short; 

 spurious feather small ; 3d and 4th primaries longest. Tail of 12 

 feathers, elastic, rigid, and acuminate. 



The sexes and young nearly alike ; with the moult annual. They 

 live in pairs, or move in small families, and chiefly frequent woods, 

 particularly those of pine, climbing both upwards and downwardson 

 the trunks of trees, in performing which, like Woodpeckers, they 

 are aided by the support of the rigid tail. They feed on insects only ; 

 and nest in hollow trees, laying from 3 to 9 eggs. The species are 

 few, but widely spread. 



BROWN CREEPER. 



(Ccrthiafamiliaris, L. Wilson, i. p. 122. pi. 8. fig. 1. Phil. Muse- 

 um, No. .) 



Sp. Charact. — Dark grey, varied with white, brown, and dusky ; 

 beneath white ; rump and tail rusty -brown. 



This industrious forager for insects, chiefly dwelling 

 in the seclusion of the forest, is but seldom seen in the 

 summer ; but on the approach of winter, with other hun- 

 gry wanderers of similar habits, such as the small Wood- 

 peckers and Nuthatches, he makes his appearance on the 

 wooded skirts of the village, particularly among the pine 

 trees, and occasionally becomes familiar enough to pay 

 a passing visit to the orchard. In this country, however, 

 the species is neither common nor familiar, nor are they 

 more abundant in the Northern than the Middle States. 

 If this be, indeed, the same as the common European 

 species, its habits are considerably different, nor is it 

 quoted as common to America by the celebrated Tem- 

 minck in his Manual of European Ornithology. 



The bill of the Creeper not being of sufficient strength 

 to probe the wood, it rests contented, with examining the 

 crevices of the bark for insects and their eggs, proceeding 



