THE WALL-CREEPER. 



219 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Fore-head and 

 crown pale grejish-brown, tinged here and there pink ; back of 

 neck, mantle, and scapulars French-grey to pale ash-grey ; back 



The Vi-'all-Creeiier (Tichodroma muraria). 



slightly darker ; rumj) and upper tail-coverts dark slate-grey ; 

 lores dark slate-grey ; ear-coverts as croA\ii but lower part white ; 

 chin and throat white ; breast and belly dark slate-grey ; under 

 tail-coverts same but tipped white ; axillaries and under wing- 

 coverts same but with broad edges and tijxs of pink ; tail-feathers 

 browTi-black tipped grey, outer pair with broad white band above 

 grey tip, next (penultimate) pair with smaller white mark on inner 

 web only above grey tip ; primaries brouii-black tipped grey, 

 1st uniform, 2nd to 5th with two large white spots on inner webs 

 (occasionally the proxiinal spot on 5th is reduced or absent), rest 

 either without spots or with a pale buff or rufous-buff spot on basal 

 half of inner web, 3rd to 10th with basal half of outer web bright 

 crimson ; secondaries like inner primaries but spot when present 

 usually bright rufous-buff, innermost secondaries fringed grey on 

 distal part of outer webs (N.B. — The basal spot on inner primaries 

 and secondaries varies considerably in size, Avhile sometimes it 

 is entirel}^ absent and sometimes present on only a few feathers) ; 

 primary-coverts bro^vn-black, outer webs crimson ; greater coverts 

 same but bases and inner feathers grey ; median and lesser coverts 

 bright crimson with ashj^-grey bases. This plumage is acquired 

 by complete moult in Aug. -Sept. and even as late as Nov. Summer. 

 — The body-plumage is moulted in Feb.-jNIarch, but ajjparently 

 not wing-coverts, wing- or tail-feathers. Fore-head and crown 

 become French-grey tinged here and there pink ; mantle and 

 scapulars rather paler than crown, but not so ashy as is usual in 

 winter plumage ; lores, most ear-coverts, whole chin and throat 

 extending to upper-breast black ; rest of plumage as in winter, 

 but wing- and tail-feathers browner. 



