CREEPERS 481 



All this time his neighbors and he generally has numbers of them 

 have doubtless been charming you with their rippling, bubbling, gurg- 

 ling song. It is quite beyond their control Jjthey seem filled to overflowing 

 with an inexhaustible supply of music. Sometimes, like a mine of 

 melody, it explodes within them and lifts them from the dark recesses 

 of the flags up into the air above. 



725b. T. p. griseus (Brewst.). WORTHINGTON'S MARSH WREN. Gray- 

 est of the Marsh Wrens. Ads, Above olive-gray; sides of crown narrowly 

 blackish, black of back much reduced in extent, white streaks less conspicu- 

 ous than in other races; below white, the sides grayish, bars, if present, 

 indistinct; under tail-coverts barred, in this respect resembling T. p. mariance 

 from which it may be readily distinguished by its much grayer color. 

 W., 1-80; T., 1-52; B., '53. 



Range. S. Atlantic coast region from S. C. to n. Fla. 



725d. T. p. iliacus Ridgw. PRAIRIE MARSH WREN. "Similar to 

 T. p. palustris, but slightly larger and with the coloration much more ru- 

 fescent, the brown of the upperparts russet-brown to cinnamon-brown or 

 russet, the flanks conspicuously deep cinnamon-buff or cinnamon" (Ridgw.). 



Range. Plains and Prairies of cen. N. A. Breeds in Transition and 

 Upper Austral zones from cen. Alberta and sw. Keewatin s. to cen. Miss. 

 Valley and e. to Ind.; winters s. along the Gulf coast to w. Fla. and s. to 

 Mex. SE. Minn., common S. R., May 5-Sept. 9. 



Nesting da e, se. Minn., June 3 (nest, no eggs). 



725e. T. p. marianse (Scott}. MARIAN'S MARSH WREN. Similar to 

 T. p. palustris, but smaller, with the upperparts darker, the sides and flanks 

 more heavily washed and of about the same color as rump; the under 

 tail-coverts, and sometimes sides and breast barred or spotted with black. 

 W., 1'80; T., 1-50; B., '52. 



Remarks. The amount of black above is variable and the general tone 

 of color in some specimens closely approaches that of T. p. palustris, from 

 which, however, the heavily barred under tail-coverts separate this race. 



Range. Coast of S. Atlantic States. Breeds on coast of N. C.; winters 

 s. to S. C. and w. coast of Fla. 



Nesting date, Matanzas Inlet, Fla., May 24. 



62. FAMILY CERTHIID^E. CREEPERS. (Fig. 73.) 



This is an Old World family, numbering about twelve species, of 

 which only one is found in America where, represented by five sub- 

 species, it ranges as far south as the southern extremity of the Mexican 

 tableland. It is a true tree-creeper, and, like a Woodpecker, uses its 

 tail as a prop in climbing. 



726. Certhia familiaris americana (Bonap.). BROWN CREEPER. 

 (Figs. 166, 73.) Ads. Upperparts mixed with white, fuscous, and ochra- 

 ceous-buff; rump pale rufous; tail pale grayish brown; a band of cream- 

 buff through all but outer wing-feathers; bill curved; tail-feathers stiff- 

 ened and sharply pointed; underparts white. L., 5*66; W., 2'56; T., 2'65; 

 B., -63. 



Range. E. N. Am. Breeds mainly in Canadian and Transition zones 

 from s. Man., cen. Ont., s. Que., and N. F., s. to e. Nebr., n. Ind., n. N. Y., 

 and Mass., and s. along the Alleghanies to N. C., and casually in se. Mo.; 



