58 WEST VIRGINIA [W. VA. 



Ohio and Great Kanawha Rivers. In four years' residence on tlie 

 banks of the Ohio River I did not see a single specimen of this 

 Marsh Wren. 



Nest Among reeds or bushes. 



Food Said to feed upon insects, spiders, and snails. 



726. Brown Creeper (Certhia familiaris fusca). Two specimens. 

 The name of this bird is a good description of it. Can not be mis- 

 taken for any other species. 



Geog. Dist. Eastern North America. 



W. Va. Dist. Fairly common in winter, spring, and fall. In 

 the mountains it s occurs in the summer months, and probably 

 breeds there. 



Nest Placed behind the loose bark of trees. Five to eight 

 spotted eggs. 



Food Very few precise determinations of its food have been 

 made. Feeds upon insects that are found upon the bark of trees. 



727. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) . Pair of 

 adults. 



Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, from Georgia northward. 



W. Va. Dist. Common in all parts of the state, less so in moun- 

 tains. 



Nest In a hole in tree. Five to eight beautiful eggs. Nests- 

 in this state. 



Food Grains, seeds, and insects. This species destroys many 

 insects in the egg or larva? stage. Feeding constantly upon the 

 insects that are to be found on the bark of trees, it must be that 

 many harmful species, such as Scolytids and other tree and bark- 

 boring insects, are eaten. This bird is especially useful in the 

 winter as it goes over the tree trunks searching every nook and 

 cranny. 



728. Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) . Main and fe- 

 male adults. To be distinguished most carefully from the preced- 

 ing. A rare bird outside of the mountains. . 



Geog. Dist. North America at large. 



W. V. Dist. As suggested .above, this bird is rare in West Vir- 

 ginia excepting in the higher elevations, where it may be found in- 

 considerable numbers, in the breeding season. The nasal yanli i/nuk 

 of this species is a common sound in the black spruce forests in the 

 Allegheny Mountains. 



