88 BIRDS OF ARKANSAS. 



Brown Creeper. Certhia familiaris americana. 



The brown creeper is a common migrant in the Mississippi Valley 

 and a winter resident in the southern part. Since it is known to 

 breed regularly in the Sunken Lands of Southeastern Missouri 

 (Widmann), it will probably be found breeding also in similar situa- 

 tions in northeastern Arkansas. The bird has been observed at 

 Helena and Clinton in April and is reported also from Newport. 

 Savage saw a few the first week of September at Delight and Hanna 

 found the species common at Van Buren in December. It is a quiet, 

 inconspicuous little bird, and seeks its food, mainly insects, on the 

 trunks of trees, up which it creeps in long spirals. 



White-breasted Nuthatch. Sitta carolinensis. 



The white-breasted nuthatch is a generally distributed and not 

 uncommon permanent resident. It is an inhabitant of wooded 

 regions, and is perhaps most numerous in the mountains and foot- 

 hills. It is reported as a breeder at Clinton, Fayetteville, and New- 

 port. I found it in small numbers at Walker Lake, McGehee, 

 Wilmot, Delight, Rich Mountain, Pettigrew, and Mammoth Spring. 

 It is nonmigratory and has been observed in winter at Fayetteville, 

 Judsonia, and Van Buren. At the latter place Hanna took speci- 

 mens in November, December, and January. The food of this 

 nuthatch in summer consists largely of cankerworms, forest tent 

 caterpillars, plant lice, and other insects. In winter it takes a good 

 many seeds and berries and some nuts. 



Red-breasted Nuthatch. Sitta canadensis. 



This species breeds mainly in the Northern States and Canada and 

 winters over most of the United States. It probably occurs in 

 Arkansas as an irregular migrant and winter visitant, but has been 

 recorded only once — by Mrs. Stephenson, at Helena, October 3, 1895. 



Brown-headed Nuthatch. Sitta pusilla. 



This little nuthatch is a southern bird, common in the Gulf States 

 and occurring locally as far north as Shannon County, Mo. It has 

 been recorded in Arkansas only once — at Newport, 1 but it will 

 doubtless be found sparingly in other places, particularly in pine- 

 forested regions. 



Tufted Titmouse. Bseolophus bicolor. 



The tufted titmouse, or " tomtit," is common and generally dis- 

 tributed in the State, but less numerous in the mountains than in the 

 heavily timbered river bottoms. It has been reported from Fayette- 

 ville, Pettigrew, Van Buren, Kich Mountain, Delight, Wilmot, Lake 

 City, Mammoth Spring, Clinton, and Conway, and is a permanent 

 resident wherever found. 



i Cooke, W. W., Bull. 2, Div. Orn. and Mamm., U. S. Dept. Agric, p. 276, 1888. 



