TITMICE AND CREEPERS 427 



or shrubs, but perches on stones among short grass and on plants. In colour the 



throat is white with black shell-shaped spots, although in the young the spots 



are wanting and the ground-colour grey. The wings are ornamented with two 



white bars formed by the tips of the coverts ; the breast is grey, and the tail dark 



brown with a white tip on the inner web of the outer feathers. 



This bird, which is about 7A inches long, breeds in the crevices of rocks and 



under bushes, the nest being formed of fine grass and rootlets, lined with moss 



wool, hair, and a few feathers. In May and June it contains from four to five pale 



bluish eggs. In character and habits the Alpine accentor generally resembles its 



cousin the hedge-sparrow, the few differences in these respects being due to the 



colder climate of its home. As soon as the snow covers the seeds, it leaves the 



mountains and migrates to the shores of the Mediterranean. 



Titmice and In the Alps titmice are represented by the Alpine form of the 



Creepers. marsh tit (Parus palmtris borealis), a race also found in the north, 



where it ranges up to the Arctic Circle. The creepers, on the other hand, have 



a characteristic Alpine species, the handsome crimson-winged wall-creeper (Ticho- 



droma muraria), which inhabits all the higher mountains of central and southern 



Europe, as well as the corresponding latitudes of Asia as far east as northern 



China, and Africa as far south as Abyssinia. In Europe this bird nests in Spain, 



France, Ital}', the Balkan peninsula, Austria, Switzerland, and upper Bavaria ; 



in all cases being found close up to the snow-line. Winter sometimes drives it 



down the mountains, when it arrives as a straggler in many parts of Germany 



as far as Coblentz on the Rhine, in northern France, and rarely in the British Isles. 



Seldom seen on trees or bushes, the wall-creeper generally climbs some vertical 



rocks in a zigzag course, flying down after a moment to ascend an adjacent cliff 



in the same jerky manner. In climbing it supports itself by the wings, and not 



by the soft-feathered tail. As it ascends, it searches every crevice with its beak for 



flies and other insects and spiders, often catching the flies while in the air. In its 



ascent the head is held erect or bent backwards on the neck. During the night, 



which is passed in some crevice of the rocks, this creeper, unlike other birds, rests 



on its stomach ; and it enters and leaves its resting-places with the greatest j)re- 



caution. It roosts till late in the morning, until, in fact, the hoar-frost has 



thawed from off the rocks. It has a peculiar flight, curiously like that of a large 



butterfly. Although living in solitude, it is always brisk ; its call being a short, 



flute-like whistle, and its song, which is also short, decidedly melodious. Towards 



the end of May the nest contains from three to five white eggs, marked with 



small brownish dots. This is placed in a crevice of the rocks, and neatly built 



of moss, grass, rootlets, hair, and feathers. In colour the wall-creeper is pearly 



grey with blackish wings and tail ; the latter being tipped with white and grey. 



The wing-coverts are crimson, and five of the primaries are spotted with white. 



Among the pipits, mention may be made of the water-pipit 



Water-Pipit. , . , . , * . , . , . , , . , ,. 1 j 



(Anthus spipoletta) as an Alpme bird, which lives among rocks and 



mountain-streams. Widely distributed in Europe, it extends eastwards to the 



Altai ; and breeds in colonies, constructing its nest mainly of dry grass, with a 



little moss and a few rootlets, and lining it with wool, hair, and feathers. The 



nest is always on the ground in a dry place, and generally among stones or under 



