Meet the Wallcreeper
“Wallcreeper – Alps – Italy_5037” by fveronesi1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
When in breeding plumage, adult male Wallcreepers (Tichodromadidae) have gray upper portions with an eye-catching pattern on the broad, rounded wings. The duller primary and greater coverts contrast with the carmine-red lesser and median coverts and the red-pink color of the alula. The flying feathers have sooty black tips and carmine-red bases on the outer margins. Each of the four outer primaries has two white patches. The white margins on the external rectrices of the black upper tail and gray tip give the tail a short, square appearance. Adult males’ underparts are mostly dusky gray with a black chin, throat, and breast (the extent of which varies across individuals). The axillaries and underwing coverts are a light red-pink color.
Adult females differ slightly, with a grayish-white lower throat and upper breast with a black patch of variable size.
In non-breeding plumage, both sexes appear paler gray above with a whitish chin, throat, and breast, lacking the black throat patch. Juveniles resemble non-breeding adults but have a brownish throat and more uniformly gray plumage.
The Wallcreeper inhabits a variety of rocky settings, including mountains, gorges, high cliffs, and slopes covered in boulders. To nest and roost, it needs cracks and crevices. Rocks, grass, moss, plants, trees, and locations with running water are frequently found in the habitat. It frequents similar rocky locations at lower elevations during the winter, including city buildings and rocks beside the sea. The Wallcreeper can be found at altitudes of 350 to 3500 meters in Europe, but is primarily found at higher altitudes (between 1500 and 3600 meters) in the Himalayas and even higher altitudes (up to 5000 meters) in Tibetan regions.
The Wallcreeper is a vocal bird throughout the year. During the breeding season, it produces ascending clear whistles with a lower-end note. Outside of the breeding season, both males and females sing as advertising calls to establish their territories. The race “nepalensis” has a distinctive vocalization with rich whistled notes gently rising, followed by a high-pitched note. Short trills and warblers can also be heard from the Wallcreeper. Females tend to sing more frequently in the winter areas. Additionally, the Wallcreeper utters a whistled “tschirp” as a contact call.
The Wallcreeper typically forages alone, looking for insects, spiders, and other invertebrates. Short, jerky hops, as well as sidling, creeping, and strolling, are used to navigate around stony cliffs and walls. On vertical surfaces, it can make upward leaps by beating its wings quickly once. The Wallcreeper captures prey from ledges covered in vegetation and rock surfaces. It extracts invertebrates from rocky crevices while searching for insects in holes and tunnels. On rare occasions, it may grab animals in flight or graze on the ground, turning leaf litter with its closed bill. In order to dismember its greatest prey, the Wallcreeper drags it to a flat stone and bangs it against it.
The Wallcreeper is a migratory bird, primarily undertaking short-distance and altitudinal migrations depending on the season. During winter, it can be observed at lower elevations, including urban areas. Pairs of Wallcreepers form after returning from wintering areas. The male performs aerial displays near the chosen nest site, alternating glides and wing flapping within a small area, executing sharp turns, steep ascents, and dives. If a female approaches, the male enters the nest cavity while singing, and the singing continues inside. The male also displays a head-up posture to show off its black bib. Prior to copulation, the male sings persistently with its neck held forward and dropped wings. The male lands near the female and mounts her for copulation, which occurs a few days before egg-laying.
During the breeding season, which takes place in April-May and July-August in Europe and May-July in the Himalayas, the Wallcreeper is monogamous and produces a single brood. It is a solitary nester and territorial, defending the nest site and territory against predators and intruders. The nest is typically located in a hole or cavity, such as a rock crevice, boulder, or even a building. The nest is constructed using materials like moss, plant fibers, rootlets, and grass. Once the chicks hatch, both parents participate in feeding them. The male brings food to the nest while the chicks come to the entrance to receive it. The chicks leave the nest and start to explore their surroundings after about a month. After leaving the nest, usually between 5 and 6 and between 7 and 12 days, they continue to rely on their parents for a few more days. The eggs of the female Wallcreeper are 3-5 in number, speckled, and dark crimson to blackish in hue. The female is responsible for carrying out the incubation process, which takes around 19 days. The age at which the young Wallcreepers become sexually mature varies by gender. Males take about two years to reach sexual maturity, whilst females do so around the age of one.
With its large, broad wings, the Wallcreeper takes advantage of updrafts in the mountains to reach higher foraging areas with minimal effort. Wing-flicking is a characteristic behavior of this species. The Wallcreeper exhibits agile flight with great maneuverability, allowing it to avoid attacks from predators.
Although the Wallcreeper is fairly common, it can be challenging to observe due to its inaccessible mountain habitat. This species is protected in most European countries; however, it is classified as “critically endangered,” “vulnerable,” and “near threatened” in Poland, Liechtenstein, and Slovakia, respectively. In Germany, it is listed as red-listed. The Wallcreeper faces threats from human leisure activities in mountainous regions, such as rock climbing, which can disturb its breeding areas.
Watch this bird right here in the video below: