BIRDS OF NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA. 461 



h. Bill distinctly curved and much compressed; tail nearly as long as wing, grad- 

 uated, the rectrices rigid and acuminate; basal ])halanx of middle toe united 

 to inner toe for more than half its length; upper parts conspicuously streaked, 

 with brown or tawny hues prevailing; no red on wings nor white .«pots 

 on inner webs of primaries nor w'hite on rectrices. (Pahearetic and 



Nearctic. ) Certhiinae 



hb. Bill straight with extreme tip vi-ry slightly decurved, depressed; tail a little 

 more than half as long as wing, even or very slightly rounded, the rectrices 

 soft (normal) , broad and rounded at tij); basal phalanx of middle toe united 

 to inner toe only at base; upper parts plain gray, the wings blackish with 

 bright rose red on remiges and primary coverts; inner webs of larger prima- 

 ries with two large white spots and outer rectrices extensively white termi- 

 nally. ( Pahearetic. ) Tichodrominae 



aa. Outer toe (without claw), not reaching beyond middle ot subterminal phalanx 

 of middle toe, the inner toe not reaching to second (middle) joint of middle ■ 

 toe; middle toe united to outer by all of its basal and half its subbasal phalanx; 

 hallux with claw shorter than the digit. (Australian. ) Climacteriinae « 



To what extent, if any, examination of Saljjornis and Rhuhdurnis 

 in the present connection would necessitate modification of the above 

 "key," and in which division, if any, they would, respectiveh^, be 

 placed, can of course onh^ be determined by someone who has the 

 opportunity of studying them. 



Only the subfamily Certhiinaj is represented in America, this, 

 according- to the view^s expressed above, being represented by a single 

 genus, Cm'thia, the characters of the subfamily are given more fully 

 under the generic heading on page 462. 



The true Creepers (or Tree Creepers, as Professor Newton ^ prefers 

 to designate the group) somewhat resemble the Nuthatches (Sittidie) 

 in their habits, but only climb upward, or at least in upright position, 

 usually ascending the trunks of trees in spirals, flying from the top 

 of one trunk to the base of another in their quest for insect food 

 lodged in crevices of the bark. Like the Nuthatches and the Titmice 

 (Paridcc), they build a soft, more or less felted, nest in cavities of trees 

 and lay a large number (5 to 9) of eggs of a white color speckled with 

 reddish brown; but instead of placing the nest in a hole it is, usually 

 at least, concealed behind loosened plates or strips of bark on the side 

 of a dead tree. 



The single genus is peculiar to the temperate (chiefly the cold- 

 temperate) portions of the northern hemisphere and contains few 

 species — perhaps not more than three — though one of them {Certhia 



« In Climacteriina} the tail is much as in Tichodrominje but relatively longer, being 

 about two-thirds as long as the wing. The bill is compressed and curved as in 

 Certhiina', but less so, especially as to curvature, and is relatively shorter. The 

 coloration is jilain (unstreaked) brown above, without red on wings, the remiges 

 having a broad buff colored liand across inner webs, as in Certhiimr, the outer 

 rectrices being broadly tipped with grayish. 



^ Dictionary of Birds, pp. 112, 985. 



