BROWN TREE-CREEPER. \\\ 



dots of pure neutral tint here and there, but none of those "streaks of dark 

 brown" described by Wilson. 



The young, like those of our Woodpeckers and Nuthatches, remain about 

 the nest until they are able to fly, and in their minority are well supplied 

 with food. The members of a family usually remain together until the next 

 spring. 



The males of this species are larger than the females. This difference is 

 very apparent in the bill. In the winter months, the Brown Creeper is not 

 unfrequently seen in orchards, and at a short distance from farm-houses; but 

 in the breeding season it retires to the interior of the forests. Its food con- 

 sists chiefly of ants, larvae, small insects, and particles of lichens; and, if one 

 be placed near the nose, it is generally found to emit an odour like that of 

 ants. 



Brown Creeper, Certhia familiaris , Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. i. p. 122. 



Certhia familiaris, Bonap. Syn., p. 280. 



Brown Creeper, Nutt. Man., vol. i. p. 585. 



Brown Creeper, Certhia familiar is, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. v. p. 158. 



Adult Male. 



Bill a little shorter than the head, arched, very slender, much compressed, 

 acute; upper mandible with the dorsal line arched, the ridge narrow, the 

 sides sloping at the base, nearly erect in the rest of their extent, the edges 

 sharp and arched, without notch, the tip acute; nasal groove rather long, nar- 

 row, feathered; nostrils linear-oblong, operculate; lower mandible with the 

 angle rather long, narrow, and pointed, the outline decurved, the sides erect 

 and convex, the edges inclinate, the tip acute. 



Head rather small, ovato-oblong; neck short; body slender. Feet rather 

 short, very slender; tarsus rather shorter than the middle toe, very slender, 

 much compressed; toes extremely compressed; the first comparatively large, 

 longer than the middle toe, including the claws; the inner toe shorter than 

 the outer; claws long, slender, extremely compressed, laterally grooved, 

 acute, that of the hind toe very long. 



Plumage long, loose, very soft; the feathers ovato-oblong, with disunited 

 filaments. Wings of moderate length, very broad; the first quill very short, 

 being ten and a half twelfths shorter than the second, which is four-twelfths 

 shorter than the third, the fifth longest but scarcely exceeding the fourth, 

 which is one-twelfth longer than the third. Tail long, graduated, of twelve 

 moderately stiff pointed feathers, of which the lateral are eight-twelfths 

 shorter than the middle. 



Upper mandible brownish-black, lower flesh-coloured, with the tip dusky. 

 Iris brown. Feet light reddish-brown, claws yellowish-grey. The upper 



