THE WALL-CREEPER. 219 



DESCRIPTION. Adult male and female. Winter. Fore-head and 

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

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



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The Wall-Creeper (Tichodroma muraria). 



slightly darker ; rump and upper tail-coverts dark slate-grey ; 

 lores dark slate-grey ; ear-coverts as crown 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 tips of pink ; tail-feathers 

 brown-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 brown-black tipped grey, 

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

 (occasionally the proximal 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, while sometimes it 

 is entirely absent and sometimes present on only a few feathers) ; 

 primary-coverts broAvn-black, outer webs crimson ; greater coverts 

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

 bright crimson w r ith ashy-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.-March, but apparently 

 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. 



