496 Birds of Colorado 



recorded localities are : Loveland, March, 1889 (Osburn), Colorado 

 Springs, November 3rd, 1877 (Aiken coll.), Caiion City, April 27th 

 (Aiken), San Luis Lakes, breeding, May 28th-June 4th (Henshaw), 

 San Juan co. (Drew), and La Plata co. (Morrison). It Ls said by Carter 

 to breed in South Park, and probably does not range above 8,000 feet. 



Habits. — ^The Marsh-Wren is an inhabitant of swamps 

 in which there is a thick growth of reeds, rushes and cat- 

 tails ; they are generally found in considerable numbers 

 together, and sing lustily, though their voices are not 

 particularly musical. Their flight is short and not 

 strong, but they are full of energy, chmbing up and down 

 the reeds in every conceivable position with their heads 

 cocked up, searching for insects. 



The nest is a large globular structure, about five inches 

 in diameter, constructed chiefly of grass, woven round 

 upright growing reeds or cat-tails ; it has a side entrance, 

 and is hned with feathers or other soft substances. A 

 clutch of five eggs taken by I. C. Hall on June 1st, on 

 Storm's Lake, near Greeley, and presented to the Colorado 

 College Museum, are pale brown, marked ^dth darker 

 bro\\Ti, one of them being much paler than the others. 

 They average "05 x "50. 



According to Henshaw, the time of nesting is rather 

 irregular, but he found fresh eggs at San Luis Lakes 

 about the middle of June, 



Family CERTHIID^. 



A small family of birds knoAm as Creepers, at once 

 distinguished by their rigid and sharp-pointed tail- 

 feathers, resembling those of a Woodpecker. Other 

 characters are — bill long, slender, sharp-pointed and 

 decurved, about as long as the head ; nostrils exposed ; 

 no rictal bristles ; wing with ten primaries, the outer 

 one less than half the next ; tail rounded, about equal 

 to the wing. 



