496 Birds of Colorado 
recorded localities are: Loveland, March, 1889 (Osburn), Colorado 
Springs, November 3rd, 1877 (Aiken coll.), Cafion City, April 27th 
(Aiken), San Luis Lakes, breeding, May 28th-June 4th (Henshaw), 
San Juan co. (Drew), and La Plata co. (Morrison). It is said by Carter 
to breed in South Park, and probably does not range above 8,000 feet. 
Habits.—The Marsh-Wren is an inhabitant of swamps 
in which there is a thick growth of reeds, rushes and cat- 
tails ; they are generally found in considerable numbers 
together, and sing lustily, though their voices are not 
particularly musical. Their flight is short and not 
strong, but they are full of energy, climbing up and down 
the reeds in every conceivable position with their heads 
cocked up, searching for insects. 
The nest is a large globular structure, about five inches 
in diameter, constructed chiefly of grass, woven round 
upright growing reeds or cat-tails ; it has a side entrance, 
and is lined with feathers or other soft substances. A 
clutch of five eggs taken by I. C. Hall on June Ist, on 
Storm’s Lake, near Greeley, and presented to the Colorado 
College Museum, are pale brown, marked with darker 
brown, one of them being much paler than the others. 
They average 65 x ‘50. 
According to Henshaw, the time of nesting is rather 
irregular, but he found fresh eggs at San Luis Lakes 
about the middle of June. 
Family CERTHIID. 
A small family of birds known as Creepers, at once 
distinguished by their rigid and sharp-pointed tail- 
feathers, resembling those of a Woodpecker. Other 
characters are—bill long, slender, sharp-pointed and 
decurved, about as long as the head ; nostrils exposed ; 
no rictal bristles; wing with ten primaries, the outer 
one less than half the next ; tail rounded, about equal 
to the wing. 
