SONG BIRDS OF ORCHARD AND WOODLAND. 177 



and safe shelter. They are seen more in woods and less 

 about orchards than is the preceding species, and, though 

 probably very useful in the pine woods, they are not of so 

 much value in orchards, unless attracted there by artificial 

 means. 



CREEPERS. 



This family of bark-climbing specialists has but one rep- 

 resentative in Massachusetts. The Creepers climb upward 

 and fly downward. 



American Brown Creeper. 



Cerlhia familiaris americana. 

 Length. About five and one-third inches. 

 Adult. Sepia-brown above, varying in intensity, finely marked with whitish; 



under parts white. 



Nest. Usually built behind some loose flake of bark or in a cleft in a tree trunk. 

 Eggs. Grayish-white, nearly oval, and sparingly sprinkled with brown spots, 



chiefly at larger end. 

 Season. Resident, but local in summer. 



This is a modest, quiet, and unobtrusive species. Its 

 curved bill and long, rigid tail distinguish it from all other 

 birds. It is quite common in Massachusetts in fall and 

 spring, less so in winter, and rather rare in sum- 

 mer. Most individuals of this species that do not 

 go farther north to breed retire in spring to 

 dark, cool cedar swamps, where they nest. 



The usual note of this bird is a thin 

 screep, suggesting that of the Golden- 

 crowned Kinglet, often repeated twice 

 or more. It has also a fine chip, and 

 in summer a sweet, wild, indescribable 

 song. The Creeper is pre-eminently 

 a bird of the forest. Everywhere in 

 great tracts of woods it may be found 

 laboring day after day to surmount one Fis ' 

 giant trunk after another, only to fly 



down to the foot of still another, that it may climb again. 

 In the tall, dark forests of fir, pine, and cedar on the Pacific 

 slope of the Cascade Mountains the Creeper's chirp is one 

 of the few characteristic bird notes that come down to the 



