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Wallcreeper

Bird rock beauty with ruby- red wings

Author of the photograph: Matej Gamser

High in the mountains, among rocky cliffs and crags, flits the wallcreeper. This bird, with its interesting plumage, looks like a butterfly from a distance, but it is the only representative of the wallcreeper family in our region.

Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria)

Size	up to 17 cm
Weight	up to 19 g
Diet	insects, spiders, and other invertebrates
Habitat	rocks, rock overhangs; Julian Alps

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	birds
Order	warblers
Family	Tichodromidae
Genus	Tichodroma
Species	Wallcreeper

Its most notable feature is the red-colored feathers on its wings.

The wallcreeper is a slightly larger bird, growing up to 17 centimeters. Its upper body is gray, while its belly is a shade darker. In summer, its throat is black, but in winter, the feathers in that area are gray or white. It has a black tail with a white edge and black wings with white spots.

For nesting, it chooses various rock crevices and caves from lowlands up to 3,000 meters above sea level, where there is enough space and moisture. The female lays 4 white eggs with black spots. After about 18 days, the young hatch in May or June and leave the nest after roughly three weeks.

The wallcreeper feeds on insects, spiders, and other invertebrates. It does not eat seeds! To find food, it descends to lower areas in autumn.

It is a rare year-round species in Slovenia.