THE OOLOOIST 



153 



amusement, although of course a bet- 

 ter investigation of this habit might 

 prove my conjecture wrong. At least 

 it is a marvelous attainment in the 

 art of flight. 



Byron C. Marshall, 

 Imboden, Arkansas. 



THE BROWN CREEPER 



In winter when the snow lies deep 

 and the bitter winds howl through the 

 leafless trees bird life is scarce. Here 

 and there small troops of birds may 

 be found especially if there is good 

 hemlock cover or thick brush. 



These little flocks consist of a few 

 Chickadee and Kinglets and several 

 Nuthatches and Creepers. Little 

 mites but just the satne hardy little 

 fellows that refuse to leave in spite of 

 the cold and snow. The little Creepers 

 so harmonize with the trunks of the 

 trees over which they search for food 

 that they easily escape detection. 



Starting near the ground they zig- 

 zag their way up the trunk seeming 

 to spend considerable time on each 

 tree but still keeping up with the 

 flock. 



Early in April the little Creepers are 

 sometimes quite common for a few 

 days and at such times are frequent- 

 ly seen around trees in town. As a 

 summer resident the Creeper is not 

 often met. An occasional pair may 

 be found in the mountains in well 

 timbered swamps. In such suitable 

 localities its rather weak and squeaky 

 but still pleasing song can be heard. 



The creeper at all times seems to be 

 rather tame and unsuspicious and 

 pays but little attention to the pres- 

 ence of humans. The only way in 

 which I could ever discover this bird's 

 nest was by watching the old birds 

 and detecting them in the act of nest 

 building. 



In this locality the time to do this 

 is along about the 20th to 25th of 

 April. 



During an ordinary season is 

 about the time to keep a sharp watch 

 on any Creepers seen or heard In a 

 suitable place. 



I have found that the male sings 

 more or less regularly and a pair may 

 be located by hearing the song where 

 otherwise they might easily be passed 

 by and overlooked. The female works 

 quite steady when she has started to 

 build and the male accompanies her 

 on many trips. 



With one exception the nests of this 

 bird have been in old hemlock stubs, 

 the exception being in a birch tree. 

 An old big stub is selected, one on 

 which the bark hangs loose or is part- 

 ly fallen off. For a nesting site the 

 birds select a place where they can 

 get under the bark through a break or 

 crevice or under where a piece has 

 fallen off and where the bark stands 

 away a couple of inches from the 

 trunk. 



Here three or four inches back un- 

 der from the opening the birds fill up 

 the space, building a perfectly loose 

 nest of fine pieces of dead wood or 

 rotten wood with au occasional small 

 twig and lined with cobwebs or fine 

 vegetable materials. 



If the nest is taken out very care- 

 fully so as not to fall apart and is 

 placed in a small box and packed in 

 to carry home and reaches the egg 

 cabinet in good shape it forms a 

 pretty and odd addition to the collec- 

 tion. The one exception that I found 

 that was not in an old hemlock stub 

 was in a birch. This birch was a 

 very large old fellow on which con- 

 siderable of the bark had curled or 

 rolled up. In one of these rolls a pair 

 of Creepers had built their nest. 



In height they have ranged from six 

 to 35 feet from the ground and about 

 May 8th or 10th is the time to expect 

 a full set. Eggs-5-6. 



I have found the female to be a 

 close sitter and too much or hard 



