294 LAND BIRDS 



Breeding Range : Transition and lower Boreal zones along whole length 



of the Sierra Nevada. 

 Breeding Season ; June. 

 Nest : Described by Mr. Barlow as under the bark of dead pines, about 



20 feet up ; made of cedar bark and a few feathers. 

 Eggs : 5 ; white, spotted and blotched with reddish brown and pale 



lavender. 



The quaint little bird called the Sierra Creeper is a 

 summer resident of the pine forests, and so perfectly 

 does his striped brown back blend with the bark that 

 he becomes practically invisible the moment he alights 

 on it. His habits are so exactly like those of the brown 

 creeper of the East that Mr. Chapman's delightful de- 

 scription of that bird fits him perfectly. He says : 



" The facts in the case will doubtless show that the 

 patient plodding brown creeper is searching for the 

 insects, eggs, and larvae which are hidden in crevices 

 ill 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 cared for, and that 

 his one object in life is to find it. Ignoring you com- 

 pletely, with scarcely a pause, he finds his way in a 

 preoccupied, near-sighted manner up a tree trunk. Hav- 

 ing finally reached the top of his spiral staircase, one 

 might suppose 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 stopping in his rounds, he utters a 

 few screeping 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 in its 



