482 NUTHATCHES 



winters over a large part of its breeding range and s. to cen. Tex. and n. 

 Fla. 



Washington, common W. V., Sept. 22-May 1. Ossining, tolerably 

 common W. V., Sept. 20-May 7. Cambridge, common T. V., rather common 

 W. V., Sept. 25-May 1; one summer record. N. Ohio, common W. V., Oct. 

 1-May 9. Glen Ellyn, tolerably common W. V., Sept. 15-May 19. SE. 

 Minn., common T. V., uncommon W. V., Sept. 25-Mch. 30. 



Nest, of twigs, strips of bark, bits of dead wood, moss, etc., placed 

 behind the loose bark of a tree. Eggs, 5-8, white, spotted and speckled 

 with cinnamon- or rufous-brown and lavender, chiefly in a wreath at the 

 larger end, '62 x *47 (Brcwster, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club., IV, 1'879, 199). 

 Date, Holland Patent, N. Y., May 20. 



The facts in the case will doubtless show that the patient, plod- 

 ding Brown Creeper is searching for the insects, eggs, and larvae which 

 are hidden in crevices in the bark; but after watching him for several 

 minutes one becomes impressed with the thought that he has lost the 

 only thing in the world he ever cared for, and that his one object in 

 life is to find it. Ignoring you completely, with scarcely a pause, he 

 winds his way in a preoccupied, near-sighted manner up a tree trunk. 

 Having finally reached the top of his spiral staircase, one might sup- 

 pose he would rest long enough to survey his surroundings, but like a 

 bit of loosened bark he drops off to the base of the nearest tree and 

 resumes his never-ending task. 



He has no time to waste in words, but occasionally, without stop- 

 ping in his rounds, he utters a few sweeping, squeaky notes, which 

 are about as likely to attract attention as he is himself. As for song, 

 one would say it was quite out of the question; but Mr. Brewster, in 

 his biography of this bird, tells us that in its summer home, amid the 

 northern spruces and firs, it has an exquisitely pure, tender song of 

 four notes, "the first of moderate pitch, the second lower and less 

 emphatic, the third rising again, and the last abruptly falling, but 

 dying away in an indescribably plaintive cadence, like the soft sigh of 

 the wind among the pine boughs." 



1879. BREWSTER, W., Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, IV, 199-209 (Biog.). 

 1895. WIDMANN, O., Auk, XII, 350-355 (nesting in Mo.). 1905. CHAD- 

 BOURNE, A. P., Auk, XXII, 179-183; KENNARD, F. H. and MCKECHNIE, 

 F. B., 183-193 (nesting in Mass.). 



63. FAMILY SITTID^E. NUTHATCHES. (Fig. 74a.) 



The Nuthatches, numbering some seventy species, are mainly 

 restricted to the northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere, four 

 species occurring in the New World. Although expert creepers, they 

 receive no support from the tail while climbing, nor does their foot 

 conform to the usual Woodpecker type of two toes in front and two 

 behind. Both their toes and toe-nails are, however, well developed, 

 and the birds run up or down a tree trunk with equal ease. Their nptes 

 are pronounced, characteristic, and freely uttered, but their singing 

 powers are limited. They nest in holes in trees, but, contrary to the 



