334 CEBTHIID^. 



Genus TICHODROMA, Illiger, 1811. 



The genus Tichodroma contains only the well-known "Wall- 

 Creeper, which is found as a winter visitor to the Himalayas and 

 more rarely to the neighbouring plains. 



The Wall-Creeper, in addition to a complete autumn moult, has 

 a partial one in the spring by which the colour of the chin and 

 throat is changed. The sexes are said to differ slightly from each 

 other in summer, but I have not been able to examine summer- 

 pi umaged females. The young birds resemble the adults in winter 

 plumage very closely, but they have more spots on the wings, and 

 these of a rufous colour instead of white, and they have less crimson 

 on the wing. 



Tichodroma has a very long, slender, and almost straight bill, 

 longer than the head, and the nostrils are long narrow slits. The 

 wing is extremely large, but rounded, not pointed, the first primary 

 being about half the length of the second, and the second and third 

 falling short of the tip of the wing. The tail, composed of twelve 

 soft feathers, is about half the length of the wing, and rounded 

 very slightly. The tarsus is smooth, and the hind claw longer 

 than its toe. 



348. Tichodroma mnraria. The Wall-Creeper. 



Certhia muraria, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 184 (1766). 



Tichodroma muraria (Linn^, Blyth, Cat. p. 189 ; Horsf. fy M. Cat. \\, 



p. 719 ; Jerd. B. I. i, p. 383 ; Hume $ Holders. Lah. to York. 



p. 181 ; Scully, S. F. iv, p. 136 ; Hume, Cat. no. 247 j GadoWj 



Cat.B. M. viii,p. 33L 



The Red-ivinged Wall-creeper, Jerd.; Dewal Gaiyiik, Pushtu j Say- 

 gorsa-lamdonff-pho, Lepch.; Suppurotsu, Chamha. 



Fig. 104. Head of T. muraria. 



Coloration. In winter plumage the forehead, crown, nape, and 

 ear-coverts are brown ; a ring round the eye and a short super- 

 cilium w^hite ; lores mixed ashy and brown ; hind neck, back, and 

 scapulars ashy grey ; rump and upper tail-coverts iron-grey ; lesser 

 wing-coverts bright crimson ; the outer greater coverts and the 

 primary-coverts brown on the inner and dull crimson on the outer 

 webs ; the inner greater coverts and the tertiaries brown, tinged 

 with ashy ; winglet brown ; quills black tipped with whitish, the 

 outer webs of the primaries and secondaries, except those of the 

 first three, with the basal half of the outer webs crimson; the 

 first four large primaries each with two large white spots on the 



