CREEPERS 



FAMILY CERTIIIID/E: CREEPERS 



. California creeper, Certhia familiaris 

 occidentalis. 5.00 



Distribution : From central British Colum- 

 bia south through central Washington, Ore- 

 gon and California to the mountains of Los 

 Angeles county. Two closely allied species 

 are the tawny creeper found along the humid 

 coast district from northern California to 

 southern Alaska, and the Sierra creeper of 

 the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountains 

 of Oregon and California. 



The creepers are quiet little brown birds that 

 spend their lives examining the rough bark of 

 the big forest trees for food. This they do by 

 climbing spirally up the tree to the large 

 branches and then flying to the bottom of the 

 next tree nearby to repeat the performance. 



They have a weak lisping call note that 

 can be heard but a short distance away, and 

 are said to have a short sweet song of four 

 notes, which only a few observers have been 

 fortunate enough to hear. Their small size, 

 brownish striping, long slender curved bill 

 and creeping habits will aid in identifying the 

 creepers. They usually build their nests 

 behind a loose piece of bark from twenty to 

 fifty feet from the ground. 

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