FAMILY OF CREEPERS. 23 



distinguished by its more slender form, its short 

 cut tail, wedge-shaped head, and harsh, rickety 

 voice. Its color is clear ashy - blue above, and 

 reddish - brown below, crown black, and white band 

 over the eye. These birds have the peculiar 

 habit of fastening a nut or seed in a chink of 

 a tree, and then pecking it to pieces at their 

 leisure. From this their name is derived. When 

 early spring suns begin to" warm the dark fir 

 wood, the Nuthatches will mount the tallest sum- 

 mit, and, hitching round and round in an excited 

 manner, rattle out their harsh little notes, like a 

 perfect scolding frolic. Their mode of nesting is 

 similar to the Chickadees'. Some seasons they 

 are rare with us; in 1889 they were very com- 

 mon, exceeding the Chickadees in number. 



Jfamilj) ot Cr^ipers. 



The Brown Creeper (Certhia fa?niliaris) is a 

 small, brown bird, streaked and spotted with 

 white, somewhat resembling the Woodpeckers in 

 its manners and habits. It lives on insects which 



