FAMILY Certhiidz. 
The attitude of the tiny singer during the performance 
is a bit comical, for the tail is pitched so far forward over 
the back that it appears almost to touch the head. If one 
intrudes upon the wet territory while the singing progresses 
it abruptly stops and immediately one is greeted with a 
volley of strenuous chucks which presumably means 
‘‘Chuck him out.”’ The bill of this wren is a full half-inch 
in length, that of the Short-billed Marsh Wren is barely 
five-sixteenths of an inch. 
Family Certhiide. CREEPERS. 
A small Old World family related to the Wrens and 
Nuthatches, with but this one representative in America, 
a true creeper, which, like the Woodpecker, uses its stiff- 
ened tail in climbing as a brace against the bark! 
BrownCreeper The Brown Creeper is the only repre- 
Certhia fami- sentative of its family in the eastern United 
liaris americana ; ; : 
L. s.so inches tates; the other relatives are found in the 
April 20th Rocky Mountains, California, Mexico, and 
Europe. 
It is possessed of distinct family characteristics; these 
are evidenced in the rigid tail which partly supports the 
body as the bird spirally ascends a tree trunk, the long, 
strongly curved bill, and the sharp, curved claws. The 
species is distinctly insectivorous and is therefore of great 
economic value; it is also hardy enough to withstand the 
severe cold of our northern Winters along with our compan- 
ionable little Chickadees and Kinglets. The protective 
coloring of the bird is very evident; upper parts striped and 
mottled in light brown and dull white or pale gray, the 
rump ruddy brown, the wings with a band of pale buff, and 
the tail (the feathers of which are pointed) an even tone of 
light gray-brown edged with buff. The nest, usually built 
behind the loosened bark of an old tree, is composed of bits 
of bark, dead wood, twigs, and mosses lined with softer 
material. Egg, china white flecked or wreathed with burnt 
sienna and lavender. The range of the species is through 
eastern North America from Manitoba to Newfoundland, 
southward to Nebraska and Massachusetts, and along the 
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