478 NESTS ANU EGGS OF 



struction, and the sites chosen were of a uniform character. In every instance the 

 nest was placed in a balsam fir, though spruce^ birch, or elm stubs were more 

 numerous. Within the loose scale of bark was crammed' a mass of twigs and other 

 rubbish; upon this was the finer bark of various trees, with an intermixture of a 

 little usnea moss and a number of spiders' cocoons. Mr. Brewster obtained eggs from 

 the 31st of May to June 23. The eggs are five to eight in number, white or creamy- 

 white, speckled or spotted with hazel or reddish-brown, chiefly at or around the larger 

 end, often in the form of wreaths. A set of six eggs in Mr. Norris' cabinet collected 

 by Mr. Brewsteif in Oxford county, Maine, June 5, 1879, exhibits the following sizes: 

 .58x.46,.58x.45, .57x.45, .57x.45, .58x.46, .57x.46. A set of six taken in Buncombe county. 

 North Carolina, May 2, 1888, measures .59x.45, .58x.46, .57x.44, .56x.45, .58x.45. Sev- 

 eral other sets in the same cabinet show great variation. The average siae is 

 .59X.47. , ' 



726o. HEXICAIT CBEEPEB. Certhia familiaris mexicatia (Glog.) Geog. 

 Dist. — Northern Central America (Guatemala), Mexico, and Southern Arizona. 



No reliable information* is at band regarding the nidificatlon of this Mexican 

 form of the Creeper whict is, dcmbtless, similar to that of C. f. americana. 



7266. ROCKY MOTTBrTAIN CBEEPIEE,. Certhia familiaris montaiia jiidgw. 

 Geog. Dist. — Rocky Mountain district, north'to Alaska; west to Nevada, etc. Ridgw. 



The nesting an4 eggs of this form are like thpse of the Brown Creeper of the 

 Eastern States., Prof. R^'flgway gives the average'size of the eggs as .59x.46. 



726c. CAtilFOBWIA CREEPEB,. Certhia familiaris occidentalis RiAgw. Geog. 

 Dist.'^Paciflc coast region of North America from California to Southern Alaska. 



This race of the Creeper is confined to the Pacific coast region, ^j Dr. Merrill met 

 with it in the vicinity of Fort Klamath, Oregonj and stateg that in no part of the 

 West did he find it so abundant as there. "Several pairs bred in the immediate vi- 

 cicinlty of the Fort, and during the winter several of their charactefistic nests were 

 toun4 hidden by loosened scales of bark', usually oh pines, but once or twice on 

 aspens. The eggs, according to Mr. Ridgway, average .61x.48 inches. 



727. WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. . Sitta carolinensis Lath. Geog. 

 Dlst.^Bastern (United States and British Pi'ovinces. 



The Whitewbreasteii Nuthatch is often iHiproi>erly called "Sapsucker," a name 

 commonly applied to the Downy Woodpecker and others. Nearly every person read- 

 ily recognizes this black-capped species as it runs up and down and around the 

 branches and trunks of trees in seiirch of insect food, now and then uttering its 

 curious gvank, giiank, giianlc: It is a common breeding bird throughout its range 

 and usually begins nesting early in April. Two broods are not infrequently 

 reared in a season. This species usually selects for its nesting place the decayed 

 trunk of a tree or stub, ranging all the way froro two to sixty feet above the ground. 

 The entrance may be a" knot-hole, a small opening, or a round perforation is con- 

 structed and a cavity within in whi^h the nest is made. Often the old excavation of 

 the Downy Woodpecker is made lise of. The nest' is composed of chicken feathers, 

 hair, and a few dry leaves loosely thrown together. The eggs are five to eight in 

 number, rarely nine and ten; their usual shape is somewhat long and pointed. They 

 are white with a roseate ting6, spedkled or spotted with reddish-brown and a slight 

 tinge of purple. The markings as a rule are ithiokest near, the larger ends.-, Th« 

 average size of ten specimens^is .77x,B6. 



