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Red-browed Treecreepers have a dark grey-brown cap, neck, back and upperwings with a rufous wing patch, a white throat, grey chest and heavily streaked belly. The vent is grey with dark-brown barring. They have dark-brown ear patches. The eyebrows are reddish-brown. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Female Red-browed Treecreepers have clearly visible rufous chest streaks, whereas males have a grey breast. The irises of both sexes are dark, the bill, legs and feet are all dark-grey.

Twitcher's tip

Compared to Brown Treecreepers, Red-browed Treecreepers are noticeably darker.

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 Red-browed Treecreeper is available HERE .

Red-browed Treecreepers are endemic to Australia. The range of Red-browed Treecreepers is restricted to the Great Dividing Range in the South-East of the continent. They are found in an about 300-km wide area along the coast and Great Dividing Range from Brisbane, QLD, in the North to Melbourne, VIC, in the South. Near both ends of their range there are areas along the coastline where they are not found.

Red-browed Treecreepers have a preference for tall eucalypt forest and woodland in (sub-)alpine areas.

B. Hensen reports spotting a Red-browed Treecreeper near Armidale, NSW, in February 2013. C. Hayne spotted a Red-browed Treecreeper in the same area in September 2013.

R. Plumtree reports spotting Red-browed Treecreepers occasionally in East Gippsland, VIC, e.g. in April 2013 and in March 2014.

We first spotted Red-browed Treecreepers at Bald Rock NP in May 2014, where they were found to be numerous at the time.

B. Hensen reports finding a Red-browed Treecreeper near Evans Lookout, Blackheath, NSW, in September 2017.

M. Eaton reports spotting a Red-browed Treecreeper at Gloucester Tops, Barrington Tops NP, NSW, in December 2019, and at O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, in January 2020, and again in November 2024.