NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 411 



* * Certhia familiaris occidentalis RIDGW. [55, part.} 



Californian Creeper. 



Hab. Pacific coast region of North America from California to Southern Alaska. 



This race of the Creeper is confined to the Pacific coast region. 

 Dr. Merrill met with it in the vicinity of Fort Klamath, Oregon, and 

 states that in no part of the West did he find it so abundant as there. 

 Several pairs bred in the immediate vicinity of the Fort, and during 

 the winter several of their characteristic nests were found hidden by 

 loosened scales of bark, usually on pines, but once or twice on aspens. 

 The eggs, according to Prof. Ridgway, average .61 x .48. 



727. Sitta carolinensis LATH. [51,] 



'White-breasted Nuthatch. 



Hab. Eastern United States and British Provinces. 



The White-breasted Nuthatch is often improperly called " Sap- 

 sucker," a name commonly applied to the Downy Woodpecker and 

 others. Nearly every person readily recognizes this black-capped 

 species as it runs up and down and around the branches and trunks 

 of trees in search of insect food, now and then uttering its curious 

 quank, quank, quank. It is a common breeding bird throughout its 

 range and usually begins nesting early in April. Two broods are not 

 infrequently reared in a season. This species usually selects for its 

 nesting place the decayed trunk of a tree or stub, ranging all the way 

 from two to sixty feet above the ground. The entrance may be a 

 knot-hole, a small opening, or a round perforation is constructed and 

 a cavity within in which the nest is made. Often the old excavation 

 of the Downy Woodpecker is made use of. The nest is composed of 

 chicken feathers, hair, and a few dry leaves loosely thrown together. 



The eggs are five to eight in number, rarely nine and ten ; their 

 usual shape is somewhat long and pointed. They are white with a 

 roseate tinge, speckled or spotted with reddish-brown and a slight 

 tinge of purple. The markings as a rule are thickest near the larger 

 ends. The average size of ten specimens is .77 x .56. 



728. Sitta carolinensis aculeata (CASS.) [510,] 



Slender-billed Nuthatch. 



Hab. Western United States east to and including the Rocky Mountains, south into Mexico. 



This bird is similar to the last but has a longer and slenderer bill. 

 It is abundant in the wooded and mountainous regions of the West, re- 

 placing 5. carolinensis. It possesses the same characteristic habits of 

 the White-breasted Nuthatch of the Eastern States, nesting also in a 

 like manner. Mr. W. O. Emerson states that it breeds in all the coast 

 range valleys of California, wherever there is plenty of white and 

 black oak timber, and also high up in the Sierras. The nests are 



