The Brown Creeper

Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)

Identification and Overview

The Brown Creeper is the only bird in the New World that forages in such a unique manner: it creeps along trunks and branches like a woodpecker. Six species, five of them limited to asia and Europe. All similar in appearance and behavior. "No other birds spend their lives in such intimate contact with tree bark." They blend so well that these "moving pieces of bark" can be difficult to see.

Adults have brown upperparts, streaked with white and nude-tones. The tail is rather long, with stiff and sharply pointed feathers to grip the tree, like many woodpeckers. Wings have a partly hidden white area and the underparts are also white. The bill is disproportionately long and curved.

Small size: 12.5 -13.5 cm

Thin, decurved bill

Bold white supercilium

Brown upperparts with white spots

Rusty rump

White underparts

Fairly long tail

Sexes similar

Noises, Calls, and Songs

Similar Species

Conservation Status

Nesting mainly in mature forrest, not young secondary growth, breeding bird populations have declined in much of the United States with the decline of old growth forests. They are still rather common, however.

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Habitat, Diet, and Behavior

Habitat

Woodlands, groves, and shade trees. Breeds in mature forest (coniferous or deciduous) with many large trees. Durring migration, however, they can be found in large trees in suburbs or city parks.

Diet

Eats insects almost exclusively, including: insect eggs and pupae hidden in bark, weevils, beetles, aphids, and spiders. Occasionally forages on the ground or in the snow and eats seeds.

Behavior

Feeding behavior is the most unique thing about this bird, and is the easiest way to identify it. This slender bird with a brown (with white speckles) back blends well with the bark over which it climbs in the course of its daily routine. When feeding, Brown Creepers have a characteristic habit of starting at the base of a tree and creeping upward, always going around and around as though ascending a spiral staircase. When the desired height is reached, they suddenly drop to the bottom of another tree nearby and start their diligent quest for food all over again. Nuthatches will move up and down and around in their foraging, but the Brown Creeper just moves up and around.

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Distribution

This species is a short distance migrant, if at all. Population numbers fluctuate from year to year, but its distribution seems to be fairly even throughout woodland areas, and it is seldom seen elsewhere. It will breed as far north as southeastern Alaska, the central Prairie Provinces, central Ontario, southern Quebec, and Newfoundland, and as far south as the southern Appalachian Mountains, eastern Nebraska, and in the western mountains to Central America. It winters winters from southern Canada southward.

Breeding Bird Survey (summer).	Christmas Bird Count (winter).

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Mating and Nesting

Mating

Species appear to be monogamous.
Male defends nest territory by singing.
Courtship involves rapid twisting flight among trees by males. They may pursue female in the air around tree trunks.

Nesting

Location: As high as 50 feet to quite low to the ground. Sometimes in tree cavities, but more often placed under and ingeniously fastened to slab of hanging dead bark.
Construction: A half-cup made of twigs, moss, wood fibre, strips of bark, hair and sometimes a few feathers
When: Laying begins about the first week in May.	Eggs are subelliptical, smooth and non-glossy. They are white, pink or reddish-brown speckles at the larger end of the egg.
Clutch Size: 4-8 eggs, 15 x 12mm² each
Number of Broods: ??
Incubation: The female incubates for 14-17 days; young leave nest 13-16 days after hatching.

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Sources

Ehrlich, P., Dobkin, D., and Wheye, D. (1988). The Birders Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc.

Kaufman, K. (1996). The Lives of North American Birds. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

USGS Report: http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov//id/framlst/i7260id.html

Eggs of Alberta: http://www.chin.gc.ca/~pmaweb/vexeggs/passer/bcreep.htm

Audubon's Pictures: http://www.jjaudubon.com/boa_ro/plates/plate115.html

Nova Scotia Birds: http://museum.ednet.ns.ca/mnh/nature/nsbirds/bns0273.htm

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The Brown Creeper is the only bird in the New World that forages in such a unique manner: it creeps along trunks and branches like a woodpecker. Six species, five of them limited to asia and Europe. All similar in appearance and behavior. "No other birds spend their lives in such intimate contact with tree bark." They blend so well that these "moving pieces of bark" can be difficult to see. Adults have brown upperparts, streaked with white and nude-tones. The tail is rather long, with stiff and sharply pointed feathers to grip the tree, like many woodpeckers. Wings have a partly hidden white area and the underparts are also white. The bill is disproportionately long and curved.
Small size: 12.5 -13.5 cm
Thin, decurved bill
Bold white supercilium
Brown upperparts with white spots
Rusty rump
White underparts
Fairly long tail
Sexes similar
Noises, Calls, and Songs
Similar Species
Conservation Status Nesting mainly in mature forrest, not young secondary growth, breeding bird populations have declined in much of the United States with the decline of old growth forests. They are still rather common, however.