Page:Birdcraft-1897.djvu/122

   Mr. Averill, of Bridgeport, says, “Abundant in September and October, 1888. Not seen at any other time by me.” Dr. J. A. Allen writes, in his “Revised List of the Birds of Massachusetts,” “Winter visitant. Not generally common.” In New York State it seems to be plentiful only in the migrations, but Bradford Torrey, in his essay on “December (1888) out of Doors,” says, “Throughout December, and indeed throughout the winter, Brown Creepers and Red-bellied Nuthatches were surprisingly abundant. Every pine wood seemed to have its colony of them.”

On October 18, of the past autumn, half-a-dozen pairs appeared in the spruces in the garden and. remained all winter, and on January 1 I saw five at one time feeding in the old apple tree, where meat had been placed for their benefit.    

FAMILY CERTHIIDÆ: CREEPERS.

 * Length:
 * 5.50 inches.


 * Male and Female:
 * Above brown and ashy-white striped, the brown being of several shades, growing more red on rump. Tail pale brown. Throat, breast, and belly grayish white. Slender, curving bill, black above, yellowish below. Feet brown.


 * Song:
 * Wild and sweet, but difficult of syllabication. Call note short and lisping.


 * Season:
 * Winter resident, common from September to April.


 * Breeds:
 * Locally in Massachusetts, but usually further north.


 * Nest:
 * Tucked into a crevice between loose bark and the trunk of the tree, and composed of moss, sticks, and soft bark.


 * Eggs:
 * 4-8, cream-white (sometimes having a pink tinge), spotted with brown.


 * Range:
 * North America east of the Rocky Mountains, breeding from the northern and more elevated parts of the United States northward. Migrating southward in winter.

The Brown Creeper is one of the tree-trunk birds that, together with Woodpeckers and Nuthatches, are chiefly to be seen when prying their food from the crevices of the bark. The Creeper is the most difficult to observe of them all, for his colouring is a mixture of browns and grays that  