182 Chadbourne, Nesting Habits of the Brown Creeper. lApr 



I cannot say with certainty ; nor am I sure that the peculiar 

 wheezy little song was made only by the male. It was so slight 

 and feeble that it could not be heard more than a few feet away, 

 and shows how easily the birds might be overlooked in the breed- 

 ing season even when one has penetrated to their almost inacces- 

 sible haunts. The clump of a dozen or more old trees above 

 referred to, evidently contained an abundant supply of food for 

 both old and young, and during one whole afternoon neither bird 

 left these few old trees, nor was more than three or four minutes' 

 search ever necessary in order to find a suitable morsel for the 

 young. Considerable time was spent by one or both birds hang- 

 ing motionless to the trunk of some large tree, and not even the 

 familiar s creep was heard, the birds being perfectly silent. When 

 coming from the nest the bird usually carried a bit of excrement 

 and dropped it a short distance away. 



Unfortunately, I was unable to visit the nest between June 4 

 and June 6, and on the latter date the nest was empty and no 

 trace of old or young could be found. On July 15, Creepers were 

 again seen near the nesting tree, but, of course, they may not 

 have been the former occupants. I hoped the birds would return 

 to their old home the next season and, in order to keep everything 

 unchanged, wire guys were run from the leaning tree to brace it 

 against the winter's storms. But since 1900 the tree has been 

 unoccupied, nor have I seen Creepers during the breeding season 

 in that particular part of the swamp. This may be due to the 

 growth along the south of the nesting tree having been largely 

 cut off for firewood, as has been the case with many of the swamp 

 lots which in 1900, were covered with a dense growth of white 

 cedar. 



That this nest was not exceptional, and that the Brown Creeper 

 regularly, though locally, breeds in similar situations, is shown by 

 the fact that, in 1896, 1897, and 1898, I saw Brown Creepers in 

 various parts of the same swamp during May or early June. In 

 1899, I did not look for them until late. In 1900 was found the 

 nest mentioned above. In 1901 and 1902, I again saw Creepers 

 both in May or the first week in June, but could not find a nest. 

 In 1903, the greater part of the suitable old growth had been cut, 

 and I saw no birds; while in 1904, I was not able to visit the 



