218 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Eggs. — Rather lightly marked as a rule ; average of 26 eggs, 

 15.5x12.1 mm. Breeding -season. — Begins in mid-April in S. 

 Scandinavia. 



Food. — Similar to that of the British race. 



Distribution. — Scotland. — Two. Male (exhausted) Fair Isle, 

 Dec. 27, 1906 (W. Eagle Clarke, Ann. S.N.H., 1907, p. 72). Female, 

 Fair Isle, April 14, 1913 {id., Scot. Nat., 1914, p. 54). Records of 

 Tree-Creepers from Orkneys and Shetlands, especially from latter 

 during a gale, Sept., 1859 and in Oct., 1882 with Great Spotted 

 Woodpeckers, may relate to this form. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Scandinavia, north Russia and Poland, 

 south to Carpathian Mountains, Siberia to sea of Ochotsk, also in 

 east Germany. This form is replaced by other races on mountains 

 of Corsica, central and west Europe generally, the Caucasus, Persia, 

 and many other parts of Asia. In many parts of Europe we 

 find side by side with a race of Certhia familiaris a race of another 

 species {Certhia brachydactyla), and forms of this species take the 

 place of C. familiaris in most parts of south Europe, C3q3rus, north- 

 west Africa, and apparently Asia Minor, or at least j)a.rts of it, as 

 also in North America. 



Genus TICK CD ROMA 111. 



TiCHODROMA Illiger, Prodr. Mamm, Avium, p. 210 (1811 — Monotype 

 T. muraria (L.)). 



Larger than Tree-Creepers ; grey, red and black, generally 

 seen climbing up rocks in mountains. Bill much longer than head, 

 laterally much compressed except near base, nearly straight, very 

 little curved. Nostrils forming narrow, slit-like opening. Tongue 

 long, very thin, divided at tip, but without bristles. Wing broad, 

 much rounded, 4th, 5th and 6th primaries longest, 3rd but a little 

 shorter, 2nd about equal to 8th, 1st a little less than half 2nd. 

 Secondaries broad, about four-fifths length of wing. Tail almost 

 square, somewhat less than tAvo-thirds wing ; rectrices broad, 

 rounded at tip, soft. Under tail-coverts covering tAvo-thirds of 

 tail. Plumage very soft. Tarsus covered in front with single long 

 lamina. Double moult (complete autumn and j)artial spring). 

 Sexes alike in colour, yomig not very different. Non-migratory. 

 Alpine districts of central and south Europe, Palsearctic Asia and 

 Himalayas. (Said to occur in Atlas and Abyssinia, but no jDroof.) 

 One species and no subspecies. 



TICHODROMA MURARIA 



89. Tichodroma muraria (L.)— THE WALL-CREEPER. 



Certiita MURARIA Linnaeus, Syst. Xat., ed. xii, i,p. 184 ( 176G — S. Europe). 

 Tichodroma muraria (Linnaeus), Yarrell, in, p. ix, ; Saunders, p. 119. 



