Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 1).djvu/487

 TICHODROMA. 44l Genus TICHODROMA Illiger, 1811. The genus Tichodroma contains the one species, the well-known Wall-Creeper, which breeds throughout the higher Himalayas, descending lower in the winter. The Wall-Creeper, in addition to a complete autumn moult, has a partial one in the spring by which the colour ot" the chin and throat is changed. The sexes differ slightly from one another in summer. The young birds resemble the adults in winter pliunage very closely, but they have more spots on the wings and these rufous instead of white. They also have less crimson on the wing. Tichodroma has a very long, slender and almost straight bill, longer than the head, with long, narrow slits for nostrils. The wing is extremely large, but rounded, not pointed, the first primary being about half the lengtli of the second and the second and third also shorter than the tip of the wing. The tail is com- posed of twelve soft feathers, about half as long as the wing and very slightly rounded. The tarsus is smooth and the hind claw lonsrer than its toe.


 * Certhia muraria Linn., S. N., i, p. 184 (1766) (S. Europe).
 * Tichodroma muraria. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 334.

Vernacular names. Dewal Gaiyulc (Pushtu); Sa(j-gorsa-Jamdonrj- pJio (Lepcha); Siqyjmrotsu (Cliamba).

Description. In winter plumage the forehead, crown, nape and ear-coverts are brown; a ring round the eye and a short super- cilium white; lores mixed ashy and brown; hind neck, back and scapulars ashy grey; rump and upper tail-coverts iron-grey; lesser wing-coverts bright crimson; the outer greater coverts and primary-coverts brown on the inner and dull crimson on the outer webs; the inner greater coverts and inner secondaries brown tinged with ashy; winglet brown; quills black tipped with whitish; the outer webs of the primaries and outer secondaries, except the first three, with the basal halves crimson; the first four primaries each with two large white spots on the inner webs; tail