FAMILY Certhlldx. 



The .utitude of the tiny singer during the performance 

 is a hit comical, for the tail is pitched so far forward over 

 the back that it appears almost to touch the head. If one 

 intrudes upon the wet. territory while the singing progresses 

 it abruptly stops and immediately one is greeted with a 

 volley of strenuous chucks which presumably means 

 "Chuck him out." The bill of this wren is a full half-inch 

 in length, that of the Short-billed Marsh Wren is barely 

 five-sixteenths of an inch. 



Family Certhiidcf. CREEPERS. 



A small Old World family related to the Wrens and 

 Nuthatches, with but this one representative in America, 

 a true creeper, which, like the Woodpecker, uses its stiff- 

 ened tail in climbing as a brace against the bark. 



Brown Creeper The Brown Creeper is the only repre- 

 Certhia fami- sen tative of its family in the eastern United 



itarts americana Oi . , . . . . . 



L. 5.50 inches otetesj the other relatives are found in the 

 April aoth Rocky Mountains, California, Mexico, and 



Europe. 



It is possessed of distinct family characteristics; these 

 are evidenced in the rigid tail which partly supports the 

 body as the bird spirally ascends a tree trunk, the long, 

 strongly curved bill, and the sharp, curved claws. The 

 species is distinctly insectivorous and is therefore of great 

 economic value; it is also hardy enough to withstand the 

 severe cold of our northern Winters along with our compan- 

 ionable little Chickadees and Kinglets. The protective 

 coloring of the bird is very evident; upper parts striped and 

 mottled in light brown and dull white or pale gray, the 

 rump ruddy brown, the wings with a band of pale buff, and 

 the tail (the feathers of which are pointed) an even tone of 

 light gray-brown edged with buff. The nest, usually built 

 behind the loosened bark of an old tree, is composed of bits 

 of bark, dead wood, twigs, and mosses lined with softer 

 material. Egg, china white flecked or wreathed with burnt 

 sienna and lavender. The range of the species is through 

 eastern North America from Manitoba to Newfoundland, 

 southward to Nebraska and Massachusetts, and along the 



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