THE TREE-CREEPER 



[ORDER : Pdsseriformes. FAMILY : Certhiidce] 

 PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 



[F. C. R. JOURDAIN. W. P. PYCRAFT. A. L. THOMSON] 



TREE-CREEPER [Certhia familiaris brittanica, Ridgway (C. familiaris, 

 Linn.). Tree-climber, tree-runner. French, grimpereau ; German, Baum- 

 Idufer ; Italian, rampichino]. 



1. Description. Distinguished at once by its small size, slender decurved 

 bill, and long, stiffened, and pointed tail feathers. (PL 31.) The general coloration 

 is of a yellowish brown, mottled with black, and streaked with dull white. The 

 striations are formed by dull white shaft-streaks, and are most marked on the 

 crown and neck, inconspicuous on the back, and absent on the rump, which is of a 

 pale rust colour. Across the quills of the extended wing runs a buff-coloured, black- 

 bordered bar, forming a V-shaped pattern in the half -opened wing. The under 

 parts have a silky-white sheen. Length 5*5 in. [165 mm.]. The sexes are indis- 

 tinguishable. Fledglings differ but little from the adults, but they have a more 

 mottled appearance on the back, the white shaft-streaks being wider : on the 

 head the striations are less conspicuous. The beak of the nestling is at first 

 straight, [w. P. P.] 



2. Distribution. Two closely allied species of creeper are found in Europe. 

 Of these our British birds form an insular race (C. familiaris britannica) of the 

 species distinguished by its longer claws, C. familiaris, L. Other local forms of 

 this species are found in Northern Europe, Central Europe, and Corsica, as well as 

 in the mountain ranges of Asia east to Japan. In the British Isles our local race is 

 generally to be found resident in well- wooded districts, but is absent from the 

 barren moorlands and the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Outer Hebrides. [F. c. R. J.] 



3. Migration. The bird often associates in winter with the wandering 

 parties of titmice and goldcrests, but there is no evidence of true migratory 

 movement in the normal course. But as it is a solitary migrant in limited 

 numbers to Heligoland, it is not surprising that individual migrating examples 



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