THE BRITISH TREE-CREEPER. 215 



mantle and scapulars paler, more rufous-brown and rather more 

 uniform, pale streaks not so distinct, and only edges of the feathers 

 dark brown ; lower back and rump bright rufous, almost uniform, 



U'/ 



The British Tree-Creeper (Certhia /. brittanica), 



but each feather with faint pale central streak and the concealed 

 portion with a whitish patch between the rufous distal, and black 

 proximal portions ; upper tail-coverts uniform pale brown tinged 

 rufous ; lores blackish ; superciliary stripe white tinged rufous ; 

 ear-coverts mottled whitish, rufous and black ; chin, throat, breast, 

 under wing-coverts and axillaries silvery-white ; flanks, belly and 

 under tail-coverts washed pale buff (under -parts are usually some- 

 what dirty and sometimes quite sooty, probably by contact with 

 dirty trees, etc.) ; tail-feathers pale brown with shafts pale but 

 central portions alongside shafts darker brown ; primaries dark 

 brown, three outermost uniform but rest and secondaries with a 

 broad buff band across their centres margined above and below 

 with blackish, outer webs towards tips duller buff and tips whitish, 

 innermost secondaries without buff transverse band ; bastard- 

 wing and primary-coverts black with pale buff tips and bases ; 

 greater coverts same but with broad rufous-brown fringes to outer 

 webs ; median coverts brown-black with rufous-buff tips ; lesser 

 coverts pale brown with paler tips. This plumage is acquired by 

 complete moult in Aug. -Oct. Summer. No moult and abrasion 

 has no noticeable effect. (N.B. The feathers, especially of rump, 

 are of loose structure.) 



Nestling. Down, greyish-black, long and plentiful ; distribu- 

 tion, inner supra-orbital and occipital. Mouth, inside yellow, no 

 spots ; externally flanges yellowish-white. 



Juvenile. Like adult, but upper-parts less rufous and with 

 larger pale buff centres to the feathers, giving more spotted appear- 

 ance ; rump pale rufous-brown not bright rufous ; under-parts 

 dull white (not silvery), throat, breast and flanks with minute 

 brown freckles ; belly and under tail-coverts pale buff. 



