CERTHIA FAMILIARIS : BROWN CREEPER. 9I 



em New England in summer, and to breed chiefly 

 in the Canadian Fauna, while it is oftenest observed 

 in southern New England in winter, spring, and fall, 

 being especially numerous there during the migra- 

 tions. Its true home is the woods ; but the sly little 

 bird is often observed in our orchards, parks, and 

 even streets, winding its spiral way up the trunks of 

 large shade and fruit trees. Not possessing in its 

 delicate bill an instrument powerful enough to bore 

 wood, it is nevertheless an indefatigable hunter and 

 destroyer of the many minute insects which lurk in 

 the cracks of bark, and is thus of great service to 

 man. 



The Creeper was formerly supposed to breed in 

 holes, like the Nuthatch and Chickadee ; but recent 

 observations, particularly those of Mr. Wm. Brewster, 

 show that the nest is usually placed in a rift or crevice 

 between the bark of a tree and the main wood. Mr. 

 Minot describes a nest that was built in the cavity of a 

 tree riven by lightning, a few feet from the ground, in 

 the vicinity of Boston ; and another, found in an elm 

 in Springfield, about ten feet from the ground, behind 

 a strip of projecting bark — the usual style, as just 

 intimated. A nest noticed by Dr. Brewer, found in 

 Taunton May 27, 1878, was likewise built between 

 the bark and the wood of a large pitch-pine (Bull. 

 Nuttall Club, iv, 1879, P- 87)- Mr. Brewster, who 

 closely studied the nidification and other breeding 

 habits of the Creeper in the pine woods of Maine, has 

 given us the best paper by far we possess upon this 

 subject (Bull. Nuttall Club, iv, 1879, PP- 199-209), 

 fully describing the curious position of the nest, and 

 giving other particulars of interest. He found fresh 



