46 WALL CREEPER. 



ANISODACTYLI. 



Family CERTHIID^J. ( Bonaparte.) 



Genus Tichodroma. ( Illiger.) 



Generic- Characters. — Beak very long, slightly arched, slender, cylindrical, 

 angular at its base, and depressed at its point. Nostrils basal, naked, 

 pierced horizontally, half closed by an arched membrane. Feet with three 

 toes in front, the external attached at its base to the middle toe by a 

 membrane; the hind toe carrying a very long claw. Tail round, with the 

 shafts of the quills feeble. Wings with the first primary short, the second 

 and third tapering, the fourth, fifth, and sixth the longest. 



WALL CREEPER. 



Tichodroma muraria. 



Tichodroma muraria, Illiger. 



alpina, Koch. 



phcenicoptera, Temminck. 



Certhia muraria, Gmelin. 



Tichodrome echelette, Of the French. 



Gemeiner Mauerldufer, Of the Germans. 



Picchio murajolo, Savi. 



Alpen Mauerfldufer, Of the Swiss. 



Specific Characters. — Two round spots on the inner web of the first four 

 true primaries, and one upon the fifth; the basal half of all the true pri- 

 maries, except the first, and of the secondaries rich crimson. Length six 

 inches and a half; carpus to tip three inches and three quarters; tarsus 

 nine lines; hind toe and claw one inch; beak one inch and one fifth. 



This beautiful bird, so well known to the alpine traveller, is 

 common in Switzerland, Spain, and Italy. It is a southern bird, 

 frequenting the rocky parts of the warmer countries of Europe. It is 

 found in France and the south of Germany, and is not rare in the 



