Has the habit, unique among warblers, of climb- 

 ing about the trunks and larger branches much 

 in the manner of a nuthatch. 



726. Brown Creeper — Certhia familiaris Amer- 

 icana. 



Smaller than sparrow. Length 5^ inches. 



Upperparts brownish gray mixed with blackish 

 and white; underparts white. 



An easy bird to overlook as it creeps over the 

 tree trunk, clinging closely like a living scale of 

 the gray bark; its note is a high-pitched lisp. 



727. White-breasted Nuthatch — Sitta caro- 

 linensis carolinensis. 



Sparrow-size. Length 6% inches. 



Male — Upperparts mostly bluish gray; under- 

 parts and sides of head white; lower belly and un- 

 der tail-coverts brownish red; top of head glossy 

 black. Female — Similar, but top of head more like 

 back. 



Climbs up and down tree trunks, always pro- 

 gressing head first. Has several distinctive notes. 



728. Red-breasted Nuthatch — Sitta canadensis. 

 Smaller than sparrow. Length 4^ inches. 

 Male — Upperparts bluish gray; black stripe on 



side of head, passing through eye, and top of head 

 black; underparts buffy. Female— Similar, but 

 top of head and stripe on side of head bluish gray; 

 underparts paler. 



See habits of number 727. call-notes feeble. 



28 



