LXXXVI 



Bkown Creeper 

 726. Certhia familiaris americcma 



The Brown Creeper is a grayish-brown bird about 

 five inches in length, characterized by a rather slender, 

 curved bill and whitish belly. The nest is usually placed 

 beneath a piece of dead detached bark on trees standing 

 in or near swampy places. The eggs are rather numer- 

 ous, four to eight, and of a creamy color with reddish- 

 brown spots. (Fig. 133.) 



The breeding range of the Brown Creeper in the 

 northern part of the United States has been extended to 

 southern Minnesota and Iowa. The bird is of a retiring 

 disposition and rarely is seen unless, because of scanty 

 food supply during prolonged snows, it visits the haunts 

 of man or his Downy Woodpecker and Chickadee feeding 

 stations. 



The tender fragile bill of the Brown Creeper does 

 not permit it to dig for a living; hence it may be seen 

 creeping about and up trees gently picking from the 

 surface and crevices of trees the eggs and larvae of in- 

 sects. The birds are very confiding and will permit of a 

 close approach while they are girdling the trees in radial, 

 upward spirals in pursuit of food. 



In February, 1920, on Scarritt Point, Kansas City, 

 Missouri, I established a bird-feeding station. The bill- 

 of-fare consisted of corn bread, corn grits and beef fat 

 or suet. The food was confined by nailing a piece of wire 

 screen to a large oak tree. In this screen was cut a small 

 hole which would permit the birds to reach the food 

 and, at the same time, limit the feeding range of the 

 birds, thus keeping them in sharp lens focus for picturing. 



The second day after the food was placed, I found 

 feeding, the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Tufted Tit- 

 mice and Chickadees. Then, to my surprise and delight, 

 a long-billed, slim-bodied, brown-colored bird, the Brown 

 Creeper, made its appearance. It looked so small and 



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