BIRDS OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 



117 



T 



spots; breast and sides of head whitish; 

 relatively long, slender bill. Call a 

 somewhat nasal hank, hank. Creeps 

 both up and down tree trunks and 

 branches. Docs not use tail as support 

 in climbing as do woodpeckers. Nests 

 in abandoned woodpecker holes or con- 

 structs its own nesting chamber. 



Frequents chiefly rough-barked trees 

 such as oaks and conifers. R. from the 

 Upper Sonoran to the Hudsonian life- 

 zone, concentrating in the lower zones 

 in winter. Occasionally seen in Yo- 

 semite Valley. 



RED-BREASTED NL THATCH 



(Sitta canadensis): 4/2 in. Top of 

 head and line through eye black; white 

 stripe over eye; upper parts bluish- 

 gray; tail dark with white spots on 

 outer feathers; below buff or reddish- 

 broivn, lighter in immature and in fe- 

 male. Carries tail on line with back 

 when foraging. Call, a nasal gna gna. 

 Frequents chiefly conifers in the Ca- 

 nadian life-zone. It especially favors 

 firs in which it often forages at con- 

 siderable heights. Partially R., many 

 individuals descending in winter to 

 lower levels and to the south. In the 

 Yosemite region common in summer in 

 the Canadian zone but also found in 

 the Transition and Hudsonian zones. 

 To be seen in Yosemite Valley almost 

 all year. 



PYGMY NUTHATCH (Sitta pyg- 

 maea): AAy^ in. Above light bluish- 

 gray; head darker or brownish with 

 dark line through eye; white on nape 

 inconspicuous; under parts white or 

 buff"y: tail short, outer tail feathers with 

 black and white. Inhabits the trunks 

 and main branches of trees. Often seen 

 feeding in pine-needle clusters. Usually 

 travels in small flocks. 



Frequents pine trees and other coni- 

 fers in the Transition life-zone, often 

 foraging at high levels in trees. Uncom- 

 mon R. in the Yosemite region in the 

 Transition and Canadian life - zones. 

 Occasionally seen in late summer and 

 fall around the rim of Yosemite Valley. 

 Rare in Yosemite Valley. 



RED-BREASTED 

 NUTHATCH % s 



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Aiuh 



.^■^^-\f.i^.X i^' 



BROWN CREEPER 



CREEPERS: Family Certhiidae 



BROWN CREEPER (Certhia famil- 

 iaris): 5-5^4 in. Head and upper parts 

 brown, becoming brighter on rump; 

 long, curved bill; under parts whitish; 

 buffy bar in wing seen in flight. Climbs 

 upward in series of jerking moVements 

 often in a spiral about trunks and 

 branches. Tail feathers stiff and pointed, 

 aiding in creeping on vertical surfaces. 

 Call a dainty, wiry, high-pitched see', 

 see\ se-teetle-te, see' , the first two notes 

 and the last higher than the rest. Nests 

 in crevices beneath loose bark. 



Frequents trunks and larger branches 

 chiefly of coniferous trees, usually where 



