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Wallcreeper
(Tichodroma muraria)
: "European Wallcreeper"
 German name(s): "Mauerläufer"
Size: 15.5-17 cm
Weight: 17-19 g
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Wallcreepers are small mountain birds.
Their plumage is
well-camouflaged to go unnoticed on rocky surfaces.
Males
in breeding plumage
are black from cheek to chin, throat and upper chest.
In eclipse
these parts turn white and inconspicuous white eye-rings appear.
Otherwise the
plumage remains
unchanged throughout the year.
From the lower chest downward the front is the same shade of grey
as the head, neck, mantle and back down to the rump. Any colour
and morphological structure are found only on the wings and tail.
The base colour of the wing feathers and uppertail is dark-grey
to near-black. Both the primary wing feathers and the outer tail
feathers have subterminal white spots. The wing spots are visible
on both the upper and lower side.
Parts of the wing coverts are grey, sullied with crimson-red.
The base half of the primary and secondary wing feathers have
bright crimson patches that, because of thin, dark leading edges
are mostly covered when the wings are folded. On the underwings
the coverts are also crimson, but the flight feathers only show
crimson in a semi-transparent display when illuminated from behind.
The uppertail has a mid-grey terminal band.
Female
Wallcreepers resemble
males in eclipse.
The irises are dark. The long, fine and slightly down-curved bill
is grey. The legs and feet are also grey.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Wallcreeper
at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Wallcreeper is available
HERE
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There are 2 extant races of Eurasian Treecreepers,
"muraria"
and "nepalensis".
Their overall range extends across the mountain ranges of the
Palearctic, from southern Europe to far-eastern Asia. They are
resident in their core range in high-altitude mountain ranges,
but in winter part of the population will widely disperse to
lower altitudes. The dispersal can be over considerable distances,
of up to ca. 1000 km.
The range of nominate race
"muraria"
encompasses southern Europe, parts of Asia Minor and the Caucasus
and sourrounds.
Race "nepalensis" is found from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and eastern
Iran, via the Himalayas and parts of the central Asian highlands
into eastern China.
The transition between the two races occurs on the southern shore
of the Caspian Sea, in northern Iran.
In Europe, the only the nominate race of Wallcreepers,
"muraria",
is present.
Their core breeding range includes the Cordillera Cantabrica and
the Pyrenees in Iberia, from where they disperse in winter as far
as the Sierra Nevada in southern Spain, via the Alps and the
Apennine Mountains and parts of Corsica, towards parts of the
Tatras, the Balkans and parts of Greece, down to the Peloponnes.
In winter they disperse far and wide throughout southern, central
and south-eastern Europe. The farthest they have been recorded
from their core breeding range is in the central European low
mountain ranges and the rugged coastal areas of southern England,
with a single sighting from the Netherlands as well.
Wallcreepers have a strong preference for steep, often vertical
rockfaces and cliffs. They breed at altitudes between 1000 m and
3000 m.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Race "muraria"
G. Normand reports spotting a Wallcreeper,
nominate race
"muraria",
at Tete de Chien, Cap d'Ail, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France, in
February 2021.
All sighting and photographic information presented on this
page has kindly been contributed by G. Normand.
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Photos |
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Race "muraria"
This race is also called the "European Wallcreeper".
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ADULT |
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FEMALE |
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Frontal view of a female Wallcreeper - note the light-grey chin
and eye-ring
(photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Tete de Chien, Cap d'Ail, Alpes-Maritimes, France, February 2021]
Near-frontal view of a female Wallcreeper - note the light-grey chin
and eye-ring
(photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Tete de Chien, Cap d'Ail, Alpes-Maritimes, France, February 2021]
Lateral view of a female Wallcreeper
(photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Tete de Chien, Cap d'Ail, Alpes-Maritimes, France, February 2021]
Two similar near-dorsal views of a female Wallcreeper
(photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Tete de Chien, Cap d'Ail, Alpes-Maritimes, France, February 2021]
Dorsal view of a female Wallcreeper
(photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Tete de Chien, Cap d'Ail, Alpes-Maritimes, France, February 2021]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
