320 



BIRDS OF NORTH CAROLINA 



Except on the highest mountains, the Brown Creeper is only a winter visitor in 

 North Carolina, arriving early in October and leaving about the middle of April. 

 In parts of the mountain region it resides throughout the year, breeding on the 

 higher ranges and wintering in the valleys. Rhoads observed it on Roan Mountain 

 in June, 1895; Brewster on Black Mountain and near Highlands in late May, 

 1884; and Feild and Bruner saw young birds on Grandfather Mountain June 24, 

 1911. It was also seen by C. S. Brimley at Double Spring Gap, Hay wood County, 

 May 25, 1913. 



FIG. 262. BROWN CREEPER. 



According to Cairns, they nest in Buncombe County in May, selecting knot-holes 

 and natural cavities of trees for the purpose. Five or six eggs are laid. LeMoyne 

 found a nest May 15, 1886, behind the loose bark in the dead top of a spruce in 

 the Great Smoky Mountains, just across the Tennessee border from North Carolina. 



