I lO 



Bird Studies. 



and a half inches long, of a general dark brown color above, striped with 



grayish white and varying shades of buff. There is much of this marking 



on the wings and a distinct wing bar of like shade. The 



Brown Creeper. j.^j^-,p jg tawny reddish. The tail is in general color like 



Certhia familians amencana r J »-» 



cBonap.). the back, the feathers being bordered or edged with obscure 



buff ; it is stiff and the feathers are pointed, the centre pair is longest, from 

 which the length is graduated to the outer ones. The under parts are silky 

 white. The bill is long, pointed, and slightly curved. 



BROWN CREEPER. 



The sexes are alike. The nest is built in a crevice formed between a 

 loosened section of bark and the body of a tree. It is made of strips of soft 

 bark, small twigs, and moss. The eggs are white, speckled with reddish 

 brown, more profusely at the larger end, and are three fifths of an inch long 

 and a little less than half an inch wide. The birds breed from the Northern 

 United States north, and in elevated regions farther south. They migrate 

 in winter as far south as the Gulf States. 



In general appearance these birds are wren-like, and in climbing habits 

 resemble Woodpeckers. They are quiet, inconspicuous, and indefatigable 

 workers in the pursuit of such insects and larvae as frequent the bark of trees. 



