FAM. IV. CREEPERS 



63 



Length, 5[ ; wing, 2\ (2|-2|) ; tail, 2^ ; tarsus, | ; culmen, |. North- 

 ern North America from northern New England and northern Micliigan 

 northward ; rarely south to Massachusetts. 



FAMILY IV. CREEPERS (CERTHflD^.) 



A very small family (10 species) of Old World birds, repre- 

 sented in this country by the 

 following : 



1. Brown Creeper (720. Cer- 

 thia familiCiris americiuui). — A 

 small, tree-creeping bird, with 

 mottled-brown back, wdiite un- 

 der parts, a slender decurved 

 bill, and long, acute-pointed tail 

 feathers. The tail is used as a 

 partial support, as in the case 

 of the woodpeckers; a common 

 iipward-creeping bird, with lit- 

 tle fear of human observers. 

 When the top is reached it &*ud- 

 denly drops to the bottom, and 

 again begins its search for food. Brown Cr 



Length, 5.i ; wing, 2% (2|-2|) ; tail, 2f ; tarsus, f ; culmen, f. Eastern 

 North America ; breeding from Maine and Minnesota northward, and 

 wintering as far south as the Gulf States. 



FAMILY V. MOCKING BIRDS, WRENS, ETC. (TROGLODYTID.E) 



This family (150 species) of mainly American birds consists 

 of two widely differing subfamilies. The Mocking Birds form 

 a group of 40 species of American singing birds, of large 

 size and plain colors, inhabiting mainly the bushy borders of 

 the woods and other shrubbery. The tail in all cases is as 

 long as the wnngs, and in one of our common species much 

 longer. The bill is nearly as long as the head. The Wrens 

 form a larger group (100 species) of small, mainly American, 



