PASSERES— CERTHIIDAE 65 



dark, wings browner. Young : grey above with greenibli tinge, 

 below white tinged with yellow. 



Breeds. — S.W. Norway north to Bergen, S.W. Sweden 

 (irregular), British Isles, Holland (rare), Belgium, N.W. France. 

 Partial migrant ; occurs W. Coast Germany and Holland on 

 passage and in winter S. France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. 



CERTHIIDAE. 



Bill curved, nostrils free, no rictal bristles; feet and claws 

 strong ; primaries ten ; tail feathers twelve. 



Oerthia. 



Small brown birds with stiff pointed tail feathers; search 

 bark for insects and larv^ ; nest in recess in tree trunk or 

 between bark and trunk ; eggs white, spotted light red. 



Certhia familiaris familiaris L. Tree Creeper. 

 Fr. Grimpereau ; Ger. Baumlaufer ; Ital. Rampichino ; Szutd. 

 Tradkrypare. 



(^ $ Above yellowish brown with white central streaks, 

 rump and upper tail coverts rufous ; quills from 4th with a 

 yellowish bar ; beneath pure white with slight rusty tinge on 

 abdomen and flanks, under wing coverts white. Bill dark brown 

 above, pale below. Legs and feet pale brown. Wing ^ 63-66, 

 2 60-62. Tail 60-65. Tarsus 15-16. Bill (^ 13-14, 9 11-13. 

 Hind claw 9 m.m. long. 



Rcside?it. — Norway to 69°, Sweden to Arctic Circle, Baltic 

 Provinces, Russia to 65', east to Urals and into Asia, Denmark, 

 Germany east of Oder, Poland, Rumania. 



C. familiaris macrodactyla Brehm. Darker above (more 

 brown, less white), rump darker rufous. Bill often longer. 



Resident. — Germany west of Oder, Belgium, France (Alps and 

 Vosges), Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Czecho- Slovakia, Italy 

 (Alps and Apennines), Sicily. 



C. familiaris britannica Ridgway. Rather redder than 

 "macrodactyla' and darker, streaks on crown buff, central 

 streaks of upper parts not so pure and reduced almost to shaft 

 lines ; underparts not so pure while. 



Resident. — British Isles. 



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