NEVADA CREEPER 79 



and this had only 19 percent of seed, too much digested for identi- 

 fication." 



Grinnell and Linsdale (1936) saw one "fly out 12 to 15 inches and 

 catch a flying insect." 



Winter. — All through the winter, California creepers wander about, 

 mostly in pairs or singly, but often associated with the merry little 

 bands of chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and kinglets. But they al- 

 ways seem absorbed in their own affairs, diligently searching for their 

 food on the tree trunks ; their association with other species is probably 

 due to a community of interest rather than to a desire for company, 

 for creepers are not especially sociable. 



CERTHIA FAMILIARIS LEUCOSTICTA van Rossem 

 NEVADA CREEPER 



In naming and describing this local race, Mr. van Kossem (1931) 

 says: "Among the North American races of Gerthia famiUaris this 

 is the palest and grayest. Dorsally the coloration resembles, in the 

 absence of brown tones, Gerthia famiUaris alhesceiis Berlepsch, but 

 is much paler and the streaks are pure white instead of pale gi*ay. 

 Ventrally leucostiota is clear pure white, tinged on the flanks with 

 pale gray and on the under l^il coverts with pale clay color. 



Van Kossem gives the range as "Transition and Alpine Zones in 

 the Sheep and Charleston Mountains, Clark County, Nevada." 



"The five specimens," he says, "on which the new form is based 

 are uniform in characters and bear little resemblance to Gerthia 

 famiUaris zelotes Osgood of the Sierra Nevada, or to Gerthia famil- 

 iaris montana Ridgway of the Rocky Mountains, with good series of 

 both of which races they have been compared. In the relative amount 

 of white on the dorsal surface there is close agreement between 

 leuGOsticta and montana., but while in montana light brown tones 

 prevail, leucosticta is ashy and practically colorless dorsally except on 

 the rump." 



Family CHAMAEIDAE : Wren-tits 



CHAMAEA FASCIATA PHAEA Osgood 

 COAST WREN-TIT 



HABITS 



The coast wren-tit is the northern race of this California species. 

 It occupies the humid Transition Zone on the Pacific coast of Oregon, 

 from the Columbia River southward to the vicinity of the northern 

 boundary of California. Like many other races of that humid coast 

 strip, it is the darkest race of the species. Ridgway (1904) calls it 

 the dusky wren-tit and describes it as similar to the ruddy wren-tit, 



