THE BROWN CREEPER 13 



fact, plainly dressed birds are, as a rule, the best 

 musicians. The very handsome ones have no 

 need to charm with the voice. And our modest 

 little creeper has a song, and a fairly good one ; 

 one that answers his purpose, at all events, al- 

 though it may never make him famous. In 

 springtime it may be heard now and then even 

 in a place like Boston Common ; but of course 

 you must go where the birds pair and nest if you 

 would hear them at their finest ; for birds, like 

 other people, sing best when they feel happiest. 



The brown creeper's nest used to be something 

 of a mystery. It was sought for in woodpeck- 

 ers' holes. Now it is known that as a general 

 thing it is built behind a scale of loose bark on 

 a dead tree, between the bark and the trunk. 

 Ordinarily, if not always, it will be found under a 

 flake that is loose at the bottom instead of at the 

 top. Into such a place the female bird packs 

 tightly a mass of twigs and strips of the soft in- 

 ner bark of trees, and on the top of this prepares 

 her nest and lays her eggs. Her mate flits to 

 and fro, keeping her company, and once in a 

 while cheering her with a song, but so far as has 

 yet been discovered he takes no hand in the work 

 itself. It is quite possible that the female, who 

 is to occupy the nest, prefers to have her own 

 way in the construction of it. 



