478 NESTS AND EGOS 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 barli: 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. Brewster in Oxford county, Maine, June 5, 1879, exhibits the following sizes: 

 .58X.46, .58X.45, .57x.4S, .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 size is 

 .59X.47. 



726o. MEXICAN CBBEPEB. Cerihia familiaris mexicana (Glog.) (Jeog. 

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



No reliable information is at hand regarding the nidification ol this Mexican 

 form of the Creeper which is, doubtless, similar to that of C. f. americana. 



7266. ROCKY MOTJNTAIN CREEPER. Certliia familiaris montana Ridgw. 

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



The nesting and eggs of this form are like those of the Brown Creeper of the^ 

 Eastern States. Prof. Ridgway gives the average size of the eggs as .59x.46. 



726c. CALIPORITIA CREEPER. Cefthia familiaris occidentalis Ridgw. Geog. 

 Dist. — Pacific coast region, of North America from California to Southern Alaska. 



This race of tbe Creeper is confined to the Pacific coast region. Dr. Merrill met 

 with it in the vicinity of Fort Klamath, Oregon, anfl states that in no part of the 

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

 «icinity of the Fort, and during the winter several of their characteristic nests were 

 found hidden by loosened scales of bark, usually on pines, but once or twice on 

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



^0727. WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. Sitta carolinensis Lath. Geog. 

 Dist. — Eastern United States and British Provinces. ^ 



The White-breasted Nuthatch is often improperly called "Sapsucker,'" a nam« 

 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 search of insect food, now and then uttering ita 

 curious guanlc, guanic, 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 from 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 which the nest, is made. Often the old excavation of 

 the Downy Woodpecker is made use 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 tinge, speckled or spotted with reddish-brown and a slight 

 tinge of purple. The markings as a rule are thickest near the larger ends. Tht 

 average size of ten specimens is .77x.56. 



