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Black-tailed Treecreeper (Climacteris melanurus) Alternate name(s): "Black Tree-creeper", "Allied Treecreeper", "Chestnut-bellied Treecreeper" Size: 16-20 cm; wing span: 24-28 cm Body mass: 27-36 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.20-0.25

Australia: Family Group 15 Family Group 15 Table Noisy Pitta Rainbow Pitta Superb Lyrebird Albert's Lyrebird Noisy Scrub-bird Rufous Scrub-bird Rufous Bristlebird Western Bristlebird Black-tailed Treecreeper Red-browed Treecreeper White-browed Treecreeper Brown Treecreeper Rufous Treecreeper White-throated Treecreeper Eurasian Hoopoe Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Black-tailed Treecreepers are by far the darkest of all Australian treecreepers. They are all-dark grey-brown, except for a lighter-coloured throat, streaked upper chest and a buff wing patch. The ear patches have faint lighter streaks. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Female Black-tailed Treecreepers have a white throat and chestnut breast stripes, while males have a black-streaked white chin and upper breast. The irises of both sexes are dark, the bill, legs and feet are all dark-grey. Juvenile Black-tailed Treecreepers are much darker than adults.

Taxonomy, classification See Black-tailed Treecreeper at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Black-tailed Treecreeper is available HERE . There are two races of Black-tailed Treecreepers, both of which are endemic to northern Australia. Nominate race "melanurus" populates the Kimberley, WA, the entire Top End of the NT, and the South coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria and, from there on, an area southwards along the Leichhardt River, across Mt. Isa, QLD, to the tropic of Capricorn. Race "wellsi" resides in parts of the river courses of the three major rivers in western WA, i.e. the Gascoyne River, the Ashburton River and the Yule River (and the area between the latter two). Black-tailed Treecreepers have a preference for sclerophyll (i.e., eucalypt) woodland and forest.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "melanurus" B. Hensen reports spotting Black-tailed Treecreepers, race "melanurus", on the Marrakai track, NT, in August 2013 and again in July 2014. H. Mouritsen reports spotting 6 Black-tailed Treecreepers, race "melanurus", in Kakadu NP in October 2015. B. Hensen and P. Brown found Black-tailed Treecreepers, race "melanurus", along Bird Billabong Road near the Arnhem Highway, NT, in July 2018, where they were found to be nesting at the time. P. Brown spotted Black-tailed Treecreepers, race "melanurus", at Keep River NP, NT, in November 2018, where they were found to be nesting at the time. Another was found at Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, in May 2020. M. Eaton found Black-tailed Treecreepers, race "melanurus", at Mary River Wilderness Retreat, NT, in July 2020. In June 2021 M. Eaton also spotted Black-tailed Treecreepers, race "melanurus", along the Barkley Highway, 50 km NW of Mount Isa, QLD. This location is near the south-eastern edge of their range.

Photos

Race "melanurus"

ADULT

PAIR

Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
Male Black-tailed Treecreepers, left, have a black-and-white throat and chest patch; females have an off-white throat and rufous/off-white chest.

MALE

Frontal view of a male Black-tailed Treecreeper; note the black-and-white streaked throat, chin and upper chest
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mary River Wilderness Retreat, NT, July 2020]

Near-frontal view of a male Black-tailed Treecreeper (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mary River Wilderness Retreat, NT, July 2020]

Near-lateral view of a male Black-tailed Treecreeper (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Barkley Highway, 50 km NW of Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]

Near-lateral view of a male Black-tailed Treecreeper (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Keep River NP, NT, November 2018]

Lateral view of a male Black-tailed Treecreeper; this appears to be a favourite perch - note the scratch marks
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mary River Wilderness Retreat, NT, July 2020]

Lateral view of a male Black-tailed Treecreeper (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Marrakai track, NT, July 2014]

Lateral view of a male Black-tailed Treecreeper in flight (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Keep River NP, NT, November 2018]

FEMALE

Near-lateral view of a female Black-tailed Treecreeper; note the white throat patch and rufous-and-white upper chest
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kakadu NP, NT, July 2020]

Near-lateral view of a female Black-tailed Treecreeper (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Marrakai track, NT, August 2013]

Lateral view of a female Black-tailed Treecreeper looking at the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mary River Wilderness Retreat, NT, July 2020]

Lateral view of a female Black-tailed Treecreeper looking at the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mary River Wilderness Retreat, NT, July 2020]

Lateral view of a female Black-tailed Treecreeper (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mary River Wilderness Retreat, NT, July 2020]

Lateral view of a female Black-tailed Treecreeper (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a female Black-tailed Treecreeper (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mary River Wilderness Retreat, NT, July 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a female Black-tailed Treecreeper (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mary River Wilderness Retreat, NT, July 2020]

Adult female Black-tailed Treecreeper, right, approaching to feed a much darker juvenile (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Marrakai track, NT, August 2013]

Female Black-tailed Treecreeper with either food for chicks or a poo sac near its suspected nesting hollow
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a juvenile Black-tailed Treecreeper (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Marrakai track, NT, August 2013]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Black-tailed Treecreeper (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Marrakai track, NT, August 2013]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Jan

Eggs: 2 - 3

Incubation period: ?

Fledging age: ?

Preferably young males from an earlier clutch will help a pair to build the nest, feed the incubating female and care for the young.

Nest building: Female, male & helpers

Incubation: Female

Dependent care: Family clan

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Tree hollow

Material: Grass or feather lining

Height above ground: ?

All species of Australian treecreepers build grass (and/or bark) nests inside tree hollows, either in tree trunks or dead limbs.

Lateral view of a male Black-tailed Treecreeper carrying food for its brood in a hollow tree trunk (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Keep River NP, NT, November 2018]

Frontal view of a female Black-tailed Treecreeper at the opening of its nest hollow (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Near-frontal view of a female Black-tailed Treecreeper at the opening of its nest hollow (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 25 x 20 mm

Colour: White, with mid-brown speckles

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

This lateral view of a female Black-tailed Treecreeper shows that treecreepers do not walk or crawl up tree trunks, but they hop (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Food, Diet

This Black-tailed Treecreeper seemed to be interested in the flowers of a Woolibutt tree... (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

... but it turned out that it was after the lerps (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

bltrcrp_pb_20190709.m4a	melanurus (Top End, NT)	Territorial call(?)	© PB
bltrcrp_pb_20201017.m4a	melanurus (Top End, NT)	?	© PB

More Black-tailed Treecreeper sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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