BROWN CREEPER 65 



bark on a large dead white pine. The female bird could not be driven 

 off the nest by rapping the tree or shaking the loose slab ; Hersey had 

 to poke her off." 



Mrs. A. L. Wheeler (1933) reports the roosting of creepers on the 

 porch of her house. She says : "For the last two winters I have been 

 having some Brown Creepers clinging to the rough stucco in the 

 entrance of our front door. Last winter there were two of them. They 

 came about 4 o'clock, seldom later ; they would fly to the bottom, then 

 climb to the top, and 'snuggle' close together in the corner. I put a 

 protection near, to keep the cold wind off them, but they would not 

 come near until I removed it. They paid no attention to persons 

 passing through the door, although they were within easy reach." 



One winter afternoon at dusk I saw a creeper settle, evidently for 

 the night, about 6 feet from the ground on the rough bark of a big 

 white-ash tree. A cat was watching the bird and started to climb up 

 toward it. When I drove the cat away, the creeper moved farther up 

 the tree and settled again on the bark. 



Some years ago I spent many hours observing the breeding activi- 

 ties of a pair of creepers. I append a quotation from my notes taken 

 at the time (Winsor M. Tyler, 1914) : 



In watching a pair of Brown Creepers about their nest, whether they are 

 building, incubating their eggs, or feeding their young, one is soon impressed by 

 an air of happiness and calm which pervades the active little birds. From the 

 behavior of many birds, one comes to associate the finding of a nest with 

 anxiety expressed in various ways — with the nervous panic of the Warblers, 

 the Robin's hysterical apprehension, the noisy complaint of the Crow and even 

 with the polite uneasiness of the gentle Field Sparrow. The Brown Creeper, 

 however, although doubtless observant, does not seem to look upon man as a 

 danger ; he continues his work uninfluenced, I believe, by close scrutiny. Happy 

 and calm, even under observation, the Creepers appear preoccupied in their 

 work and the comradeship of a pair is very pretty to see. The male sliares with 

 the female her interest in the progress of the nest; even although he knows 

 nothing of nest building he collects material and offers it to his mate. Ever ready 

 to assist, he feeds the female while she builds and while she is sitting and, 

 after the young are hatched, he is no less industrious than she in caring for 

 their needs. 



Francis Zirrer sends us the following note : "In April 1941, a farmer 

 nearby called my attention to some little brown birds that climb trees 

 coming nightly to a hollow beam, at the end of his barn, that protrudes 

 about 2 yards from the building to within a few feet of several pine 

 trees, part of a considerable gi'ove of pines, into which the farm build- 

 ings are set. According to him the birds come every night, enter the 

 opening at the end of the beam, and remain there for the night. With 

 a long pole, and standing on a ladder, I was able to touch the beam, 

 which has such small entrance that it is hardly noticeable from the 

 ground, 25 feet lower. It was quite dark, but upon the touch with the 

 pole, the birds at once began to come out, some flying to the trees 



