THE WALL CREEPER, OR SPIDER-CATCHER,
(Tichodroma muraria,)
Is larger than a house-sparrow. It has a long, slender, black bill; the head, neck, and back are of an ash-colour, the front of the neck and throat being a deep black; the breast is white; the wings a compound of lead-colour and red. It is a brisk and cheerful bird, and has a pleasant note. Clefts and crevices of rocks and the walls of old edifices are its favourite haunts, and sometimes, but very rarely, the trunks of trees. It feeds on insects, and is especially fond of spiders and their eggs. The nest is made in clefts of the most inaccessible rocks, and in the crevices of ruins, at a great height.