CREEPERS 
481 
All this time his neighbors — and he generally has numbers of them — 
have doubtless been charming you with their rippling, bubbling, gurg- 
ling song. It is quite beyond their control ;fthey seem filled to overflowing 
with an inexhaustible supply of music. Sometimes, like a mine of 
melody, it explodes within them and lifts them from the dark recesses 
of the flags up into the air above. 
725b. T. p. griseus ( Brewst .). Worthington’s Marsh Wren. Gray- 
est of the Marsh Wrens. Ads. — Above olive-gray; sides of crown narrowly 
blackish, black of back much reduced in extent, white streaks less conspicu- , 
ous than in other races; below white, the sides grayish, bars, if present, 
indistinct; under tail-coverts barred , in this respect resembling T. p. mariance- 
from which it may be readily distinguished by its much grayer color. 
W., 1*80; T., 1-52; B., *53. 
Range. — S. Atlantic coast region from S. C. to n. Fla. 
725d. T. p. iliacus Ridgw. Prairie Marsh Wren. “Similar to 
T. p. palustris, but slightly larger and with the coloration much more ru- 
fescent, the brown of the upperparts russet-brown to cinnamon-brown or 
russet, the flanks conspicuously deep cinnamon-buff or cinnamon” (Ridgw.). 
Range. — Plains and Prairies of cen. N. A. Breeds in Transition and 
Upper Austral zones from cen. Alberta and sw. Keewatin s. to cen. Miss. 
Valley and e. to Ind.; winters s. along the Gulf coast to w. Fla. and s. to 
Mex. SE. Minn., common S. R., May 5-Sept. 9. 
Nesting da e , se. Minn., June 3 (nest, no eggs). 
725e. T. p. marianse {Scott). Marian’s Marsh Wren. Similar to 
T. p. palustris , but smaller, with the upperparts darker, the sides and flanks 
more heavily washed and of about the same color as rump; the under 
tail-coverts , and sometimes sides and breast barred or spotted with black. 
W., P80; T., P50; B., *52. 
Remarks. — The amount of black above is variable and the general tone 
of color in some specimens closely approaches that of T. p. palustris , from 
which, however, the heavily barred under tail-coverts separate this race. 
Range. — Coast of S. Atlantic States. Breeds on coast of N. C.; winters 
s. to S. C. and w. coast of Fla. 
Nesting date , Matanzas Inlet, Fla., May 24. 
62. Family Certhiiml Creepers. (Fig. 73.) 
This is an Old World family, numbering about twelve species, of 
which only one is found in America where, represented by five sub- 
species, it ranges as far south as the southern extremity of the Mexican 
tableland. It is a true tree-creeper, and, like a Woodpecker, uses its 
tail as a prop in climbing. 
726. Certhia familiaris americana ( Bonap .). Brown Creeper. 
(Figs. 165, 73.) Ads . — Upperparts mixed with white, fuscous, and ochra- 
ceous-buff; rump pale rufous; tail pale grayish brown; a band of cream- 
buff through all but outer wing-feathers; bill curved; tail-feathers stiff- 
ened and sharply pointed; underparts white. L., 5'66; W., 2*56; T., 2'65; 
B., *63. 
Range.— E. N. Am. Breeds mainly in Canadian and Transition zones 
from s. Man., cen. Ont., s. Que., and N. F., s. to e. Nebr., n. Ind., n. N. Y., 
and Mass., and s. along the Alleghanies to N. C., and casually in se. Mo.; 
