226



Mr. Allen Silver,



nally crimson for the greater part on the outer webs and dark

slaty black on the inner ; most of the quills black, spotted with

two white bars except the first; on four of the secondary quills

not exposed to view golden brown markings are to be found.

The primaries and secondaries are tipped also with slaty white,

and the rectrices similarly marked, the outer ones far down the

web. Bill and tarsi black; iris very dark brown.


It may be of interest to state certain little peculiarities in

the behaviour of the bird viewed from a range of two feet. After

it had been out to a number of Shows, it would make itself quite

at home at such a short distance feeding fearlessly. A mealworm

was usually beaten on the floor of its cage up against the bark,

to which the bird might be clinging, before it was swallowed,

and small cockroaches were beaten and pinched, until their legs

came off, on the floor of the cage (much in the same manner as

a thrush would treat certain forms of live food) and afterwards

“bolted.” Blue-bottle'flies and spiders were pinched between

its mandibles and then swallowed whole. After such operations

the bird usually wiped its long bill upon its perch. Instead of

climbing after the fashion of Creepers or Woodpeckers the bird

really scrambled and ran with lightning rapidity over or up the

bark in its cage not resting its body and tail close against this,

and would frequently expand and close its tail and wings when

so engaged. As before mentioned, many of its movements re¬

minded one distinctly of Sittaccesia rather than Certhia familiaris

and like the former bird it perched freely,* sitting fairly upright.

When feeding, the Tree Creeper will hang in any convenient

position and collect food from its food vessel, or drop down

awkwardly on to the edge of it, but the Wall Creeper just hops

down on to its perch in quite a natural manner, and pecks out the

food in a different way. When moving over the cage bottom it

would stand fairly upright and run or scramble, sometimes

quickly and at others slowly, with the wings well tucked up, not

drooped as if to preserve its balance. Food was sometimes

carried up to the bark and pushed in a crevice and then eaten,

or left on the ledge and forgotten, and the bird would run

behind a piece of cork and peep out underneath in quite a



The tarsi are distinctly those of a Nuthatch as also are the toes and claws.



