CREEPERS 595 



Family CERTHIID^. Creepers. 

 Genus CERTHIA Linnseus. 



786. Certhia familiaris americana (Bonap.). Brown 

 Creeper. 



Plumage : upper parts streaked or mottled with white, fuscous and ochra- 

 ceous buff ; rump pale rufous or russet ; wings pale brown to clove brown 

 with a pale buff band and whitish tips, edgings or markings on some of the 

 feathers ; tail pale wood brown, faintly barred, the feathers stiffened and 

 pointed at the ends ; bill slightly curved downward ; under parts white. 

 Wing 2.60; tail 2.65; culmen 0.56. 



Geog. Dist.— Eastern North America, breeding from Maine and Minnesota 

 northward, locally and rarely in Massachusetts and elsewhere southward ; 

 wintering from Maine southward. 



County Records. — Androscoggin ; common migrant, (Johnson). Aroostook ; 

 breeds at Houlton and Fort Fairfield, (Batchelder, B.N. 0. C, 7, p. 109); breeds 

 in the Woolastook and Fish River region, (Knight). Cumberland; common 

 migrant, (Mead); early August to middle of May, (Brown, C.B. P.). Frank- 

 lin ; rare summer resident, (Swain) ; common in winter, rare in summer, 

 (Sweet). Hancock ; seen oftenest in November, (Mrs. W. H. Gardner) ; local 

 resident, breeds, (Knight). Kennebec; quite common resident, (Powers). 

 Knox; migrant, (Rackliff) ; summer resident, at least, probably permanent 

 resident, (Knight). Oxford; common, breeds (Nash). Penobscot; locally 

 common summer resident, local winter resident, commonest in fall, (Knight). 

 Piscataquis ; some years resident, (Homer). Sagadahoc ; common migrant, 

 (Spinney). Somerset; common resident, (Morrell). Waldo; common resi- 

 dent, most frequent in fall, (Knight). Washington; not very common, 

 breeds, (Boardman); more frequently seen in winter and quite numerous in 

 winter, (Clark). York; fairly common vernal migrant, (Adams). 



In northern Maine, within the Canadian fauna the species 



is a permanent resident, locally common, but generally less 



frequent in winter and most abundant of all in October and 



November. In southern Maine it occurs generally from fall 



to spring. The habits of this species are readily observed as 



individuals are very tame. Beginning low down on a tree 



they wind their circuitous way about the trunk, now upwards, 



now backing slightly downward, but in general progressing in 



an upward direction, peering into every crack and cranny of 



the bark as if doomed forever to seek some unattainable object. 



When finally they reach the top of the tree or have progressed 



