Wallcreeper
Tichodroma muraria (Linnaeus, 1758)
Order Passeriformes
Family Sittidae
Conservation status: in Bulgaria: Vulnerable VU B(1a); D1, BDA-III.
General distribution. A Paleomontane species whose breeding area is in Southern Europe, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, Pakistan, China.
Distribution and abundance in Bulgaria. Resident, in the middle of the 20th century it was registered in the Balkan range, Rila, Pirin, the Rhodopes [1, 2, 4, 6]. Singular pairs have been registered in the gorges of the rivers Kresna and Iskar [7]. The present distribution embraces the middle mountainous to the high mountainous belt of Rila, Pirin, the Central Balkan range, the Western Rhodopes [5], Slavyanka [10]. Separate pairs have also been reported in some rocky regions, situated lower: the Iskar Gorge (in front of the Balkan range) [8], Vrachanska Planina mountain, the gorges of the rivers Erma and Kresna, the Provadiya plateau [9, 10]. The numbers in the country are estimated at about 300-400 pairs [3].
Habitats. Vertical rock massifs in the high parts of the mountains; vast rock complexes in the moderately high mountainous belt. Rarely or periodically it breeds in low mountainous and front mountainous regions: gorges, karstic plateaus. During the autumn-winter period it makes vertical migrations and wanderings in rocky regions situated lower, also entering urban areas: Bansko, Pernik, Sofia, etc. [10]. In this period it goes tens of kilometers away from its breeding habitats.
Biology. It breeds in deep and well-protected shelters along vertical rocks, on the ceilings of large cave entrances; less frequently in walls of buildings (huts, shelters, etc.). The breeding period starts at the end of April to early May. The nest is built out of fine straws, small branches and moss, covered with feathers and hairs [7]. The female lays between 3 and 6 eggs, white, with dark colours in their obtuse end. Incubation lasts for 14 days. In about 4 weeks the young ones leave the nest. It feeds on insects.
Similar species. None.
Negative factors. Disturbance; destruction of nests.
Conservation measures taken. Protected according to the Biological Diversity Act. Many of the breeding places are within Protected Territories.
Conservation measures needed. Focused studies on the distribution and the negative factors that bear on the population of the species.
References. 1. Donchev, 1970; 2. Donchev, 1974; 3. Nankinov et al., 2004; 4. Patev, 1950; 5. Petrov, 1990; 6. Simeonov, 1967; 7. Simeonov, 1983; 8. Stoyanov, 1996; 9. Stoyanov, 2001; 10. Stoyanov, in press; 11. Howard, Moore 1980.
Authors: Georgi P. Stoyanov, Bozhidar Ivanov, Tseno Petrov
