62 Bird - Lore 



mixed things up by feeding the female, which he did at intervals. However, 

 one of them finally flew to a hard pine stub, some lo feet from where one of us 

 was standing, and disappeared beneath a long strip of bark about 6 feet above 

 the water. 



"One of us climbed on the other's shoulders and peeking in, found that the 

 nest contained six fresh eggs. This nest could never have been discovered had 

 it not been for the bird's kindness in leading us to it, as it was absolutely hidden 

 behind a very large strip of bark, while the stub stood in the middle of a very 

 thick tangle, so thick in fact that we were unable to photograph it, as we 

 could not do so without cutting away a lot of trees, shrubs, etc., and we had no 

 hatchet." 



P. B. Philipp, who has made much study of the habits of the Brown Creeper, 

 in a recent letter to the writer, made the following statement regarding some of 

 his observations. 



"For anyone who is not afraid of wetting his feet in the ice-water freshets 

 of early spring, a more or less intimate acquaintance with the Brown Creeper 

 is not difficult. 



"At this season this little feathered gleamer frequents wet woodland or 

 bottom lands, which overflow and in which there are dead trees with loose- 

 hanging bark. Such places are usually remote from human habitation and 

 visited only by wandering muskrat hunters and hardy bird observers. 



"Here, in mid-April, when the maples are putting on their spring dress of 

 red blossoms, and the skunk-cabbage is pushing its nose out of the muck, you 

 will hear a thin, plaintive song of three or four notes, different from any other 

 bird in these solitudes. Careful watch will disclose the source of the strange 

 song, and you will see a small brown bird closely hugging the rough bark of some 

 tree. A good way to find the bird is to watch the bases of the trees near where 

 the song appears to come, for the Creeper usually begins low down when it 

 starts to climb. 



"On account of the character of its haunts it is often passed by, and it is 

 much commoner than it would appear to be from published records. Most 

 of the birds we see in the vicinity of New York City are migrants on their way 

 to the spruce and fir bogs of Canada. Some, however, slay with us to breed in 

 favored places. Such a locality is a certain swamp near Newton, N. J. Here the 

 bird is a regular breeder. The swamp is timbered with ash, elm, and maple, and 

 has a heavy undergrowth. Many of the trees have been killed by repeated 

 flooding, and the loosened bark has cracked and sprung outward from the trunks, 

 making the nesting-places which this bird most frefiuenlly selects. A nest 

 there found is typical. It was placed behind a piece of bark which had separated 

 from the trunk sufficiently to permit the passage of the bird, and quite a bit of 

 engineering skill was employed in its construction. First there was built a 

 foundation of dead twigs criss-crossed and interlaced with bits of dead wood 

 and bark secured together with cobwebs and fine strips of plant-down, some 



