How to Name the Birds 



157 



Mockers the tail is also important in gesture, the white markings on the 

 tail of the latter being conspicuously displayed by a spreading of the 

 feathers. Both Wrens and Thrashers inhabit the lower growth, the former 

 being more secretive than the latter. 



Song. — Wrens and Thrashers are distinguished among birds for their 

 powers of song. Our Mockingbird is probably unexcelled as a songster by 

 other members of his genus, but there are numerous species of Mocking- 

 birds, one ranging as far south as Patagonia, which sing equally well, while 

 some of the southern Thrashers and Wrens even e.xceed ours in musi- 

 cal ability. 



Family 15. Creepers. Certhiidtp. 



Range. — Of the dozen or more species included in this family only one, 

 the Brown Creeper, reaches the New World, the others being distributed 

 over the larger part of the eastern hemisphere. 



Season. — The Brown Creeper nests from northern New England north- 

 ward, and in the western 

 United States his racial 

 representatives all extend 

 south along the Rocky 

 mountains to southern 

 Mexico. In the east it 

 migrates southward late 

 in September and re- 

 turns about May i, win- 

 tering from northern New 

 England to the Gulf 

 States. 



Color. — With the ex- 

 ception of the European 

 Wall Creeper, which has 

 rose markings in the 

 wings, the Creepers are 

 dull, neutral -tinted birds, 

 the streaked brown of our 

 species bringing it into 

 close harmony in color 

 with the bark of trees 

 vvliich it frccjuents. 



External Structure. — The slender, curved bill and especiall\- the stif- 

 fened, pointed tail-feathers are the most noticeable characteristics of our 

 Creeper, but the latter feature is not sharetl by all the members of the 

 familv. some of which have soft, roundeil tail -feathers. 



BROUN CKEI.l'IR. Kamily CfrfAi;,/.r 

 (Onr-lhird nalur.-|l si/.c) 



