WALL-CREEPER. 



521 



five in number^ and are white in ground-colour, very finely freckled near 

 the large end with reddish brown, and with numerous minute violet-grey 

 underlying spots. They vary from '8 to '75 inch in length and from "6 to 

 •52 inch in breadth. 



The food o£ the Wall-Creeper is chiefly composed of insects which it 

 picks from the crevices of the rocks, spiders, small beetles, and larvse 

 ■which lie concealed under the moss on rocks and stones. Bailly states also 

 that it feeds on ant^s eggs and small worms ; and sometimes it catches an 

 insect on the wing. 



The male Wall-Creeper in breeding-plumage has the general colour of 

 the upper parts slate-grey, darker on the head, and darkest on the rump ; 

 the lesser wing-coverts are crimson, the greater ones the same, but shading 

 into brownish black at the tip ; the quills are black, tipped with ashy 

 brown, all, except the first three, crimson on the basal half of the outer 

 web, and the second to the sixth with two large white spots ; the tail 

 is black, broadly tipped with grey, which becomes almost white on the 

 outermost two feathers at each side. The throat and breast are black, 

 the rest of the underparts very dark grey, the under tail-coverts tipped 

 with greyish white. Bill and legs black ; irides brown. The female in 

 breeding- plumage is similar to the male ; but the black on the throat is not 

 so much developed. In winter plumage, in both sexes, the throat is 

 greyish white, the head is suffused with brown, and the upper parts are 

 lighter and browner. Yoking birds resemble adults in winter plumage ; but 

 the crimson on the wings is not so developed, the bill is shorter and nearly 

 straight, and the spots on the wings are buff. 



