[448] BIRDS. OF OREGON 



Little Butte Creek in Jackson County are of this race. Undoubtedly indi- 

 viduals winter in the Willamette and other valleys of western Oregon, 

 although the winter bird specimens we have taken happen to be acci- 

 dent alls. 



The different races are identical in behavior. All have the unique habit 

 of flying to the base of the tree and spiraling upward about the trunks 

 searching the crevices of the bark for edible tidbits in the ascent. When 

 the top is reached the birds drop down to the base of another tree and 

 repeat the process. All of this is done silently or with an occasional faint 

 call that is inaudible to some human ears. 



Merrill's (1888) Fort Klamath records are the first that can be definitely 

 ascribed to this form in Oregon. He found it abundant in winter and not 

 rare as a breeding bird, saying that he found a pair feeding fledgling 

 young on June 6, 1887. He also stated that he found several of their 

 characteristic nests but did not give any details. Shelton's (1917) records 

 from the Cascades of Lane County certainly apply to this form, and the 

 bird Walker (1917^ listed from Warm Springs Agency as C. f. occidentalis, 

 taken May z, 1915, is apparently the same as one now listed in the Bio- 

 logical Survey collection as this race. The later records published from 

 the State have been our own, based on specimens from the localities listed 

 above. Patterson (ms.) reported two nests, May 10 and 14, 192.4, from 

 the southern end of the Cascades. Currier (ms.) furnished the following 

 notes: 



Have never seen an occupied nest of this subspecies but in 1931, I tore out an old used nest 

 from behind a piece of bark on a tree trunk near Fort Klamath that was undoubtedly made 

 by this bird. Again in 1933 I found an old Creeper's nest on the trunk of a large pine in 

 Wasco County. 



California Creeper: 



Certhia familiaris occidentalis Ridgway 



DESCRIPTION. "Upper parts rusty brown, brightest on rump; superciliary and streaks 

 on head and back often tawny." (Bailey) Si%e: Length 4.53-5.16, wing 1.47, tail 

 2.. 45, bill .71. Nest and eggs: Same as for C. f. montana. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds on Pacific Coast from Sitka, Alaska, south to Mon- 

 terey County, California. Winters throughout its range. In Oregon: Permanent 

 resident and breeding species from Columbia River to California line and from 

 western slope of Cascades to Pacific. (See Figure 15.) 



THE CALIFORNIA CREEPER, like other creepers, is frequently overlooked 

 except by the most careful observers. In the dense fir forests frequented 

 by this inconspicuous little tree climber there could be many times the 

 present numbers without the creepers becoming noticeable. The earliest 

 records definitely referable to this race are those listed by Woodcock 

 (1902.) from Dayton, Salem, Beaverton, Corvallis, and Portland. Shelton 

 (1917) listed a single specimen in the University of Oregon collection 



