482 NUTHATCHES 
winters over a large part of its breeding range and s. to cen. Tex. and n. 
a. 
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 (Brewster, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club., IV, 1879, 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 larve 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 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 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. Wipmann, O., Auk, XII, 350-355 (nesting in Mo.).—1905. CHap- 
BourngE, A. P., Auk, XXII, 179-183; Kenwarp, F. H. and McKecaniz, 
F. B., 183-193 (nesting in Mass.). 
63. Famity Sittipaz. Noursatrcues. (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 notes 
are pronounced, characteristic, and freely uttered, but their singing 
powers are limited. They nest in holes in trees, but, contrary to the 
