CREEPERS. 385 



them — have doubtless been charming you with their rippling, bub- 

 bling, gurgling song. It is quite beyond their control; they seem 

 filled to overflowing with an inexhaustible supply of music. Some- 

 times, like a mine of melody, it explodes within them and lifts them 

 from the dark recesses of the flags up into the air above. 



7S5b. C. p. griseus Brewst. WoBTHiuaTON's Marsh Wren. — 

 " Black of upper parts much duller and less extended than in palustris, usu- 

 ally confined to the extreme sides of the crown and a short, narrow area in 

 the middle of the back, and in extreme specimens almost wholly absent. 

 Brown of sides, flanks, and upper parts pale and grayish. Dark markings of 

 the under tail-coverts, flanks, sides, and breast faint, confused, and incon- 

 spicuous, sometimes practically wanting." W., 1-80 ; T., 1-53 ; B., -50 (Brew- 

 ster, Auk, X, 1893, p. 218). 



Eange. — Coast of South Carolina and Georgia. 



725.1. C. p. mariansB {Scott). Marian's Marsh Wren. — Similar 

 to C. palustris^ but with the upper parts darker, the sides and flanks of about 

 the same color as the rump ; the under tail-coverts, and sometimes the breast, 

 barred or spotted with black. W., 1-85 ; T., 1-75 ; B., -52. 



Mange. — tiulf coast of Florida, and probably westward to Louisiana. 



Family CERTHnD.^. Creepers. 



This is an Old-World family, numbering about twelve species, of 

 which only one is found in America. Our bird and its several races 

 belong to the northern group containing the species with stiffened 

 taUs. It is a true tree-creeper, and, like a Woodpecker, uses its tail 

 as a prop in climbing. 



726. Certhia f^miliaris americana {Bonap.). Brown Creeper. 

 (See Fig. 56.) Ad. — Upper parts mixed white, fuscous, and oohraceous-buff ; 

 t-ump pale rufous ; wings with a band of cream-buft'; tail pale grayish 

 brown, the feathers stiffened and sharply pointed ; under parts white ; bill 

 slightly curved. L., 5-6(i ; W., 2-.56 ; T., 2-65 ; B., -63. 



Range. — Eastern North America ; breeds from Minnesota and Maine north- 

 ward, and southward in Alleghanies to North Carolina ; winters from Canada 

 to Gulf States. 



Washington, common W. V., Sept. 25 to Apl. 25. Sing Sing, tolerably 

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

 mon W. v., Sept. 25 to May 1. 



Nest.1 of twigs, strips of bark, bits of dead wood, moss, etc., placed behind 

 the loose bark of a tree. Eggs, flve to eight, 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, p. 199). 



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 



