Aust birds    Bird names   News   1-26    Habitats    Key plants    Glossary    Plumage    Nests    Tips    Thumbnails    Gen. info    Sponsors    Photos for sale   
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14 15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   W   Y  

15

White-throated Treecreeper

(Cormobates leucophaeus)
Alternate name(s): "Little Treecreeper"; misnomer: "Woodpecker*"
Size: 13-15 cm; wing span 19-26 cm
Weight: 16-24 g

Similar
species

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

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See White-throated Treecreeper at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "leucophaeus"

ADULT

MALE

View of the back of a male White-throated Treecreeper in rainforest
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, September 2011]

FEMALE

Near-lateral view of a female White-throated Treecreeper (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Barrington Tops NP, NSW, December 2019]

Race "metastasis"

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male White-throated Treecreeper; note the absence of an orange cheek spot
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, September 2010]

Near-frontal view of a male White-throated Treecreeper
[Near Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2018]

Near-lateral view of a male White-throated Treecreeper
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, December 2013]

Lateral view of a male White-throated Treecreeper with its head turned
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, December 2013]

Lateral view of a male White-throated Treecreeper
[Maules Creek, NSW, October 2012]

Lateral view of a male White-throated Treecreeper that was observed feeding a juvenile Black-eared Cuckoo; more information on these birds is available HERE
[Near Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2018]

Lateral view of an air-borne male White-throated Treecreeper (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Leard State Forest, near Maules Creek, NSW, November 2012]

Lateral view of a male White-throated Treecreeper (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Leard State Forest, near Maules Creek, NSW, October 2012]

Dorsal view of a male White-throated Treecreeper, with its head turned; in this posture identification is easy
[Warrumbungle NP, NSW, December2012]

Dorsal view of a male White-throated Treecreeper; now the bird is very well camouflaged and hard to identify
[Warrumbungle NP, NSW, December2012]

Male White-throated Treecreeper seen from underneath
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, September 2010]

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of a female White-throated Treecreeper studying the photographer
[Pilliga scrub, NSW, December 2011]

Lateral view of a female White-throated Treecreeper (photo courtesy of C. Kellenberg)

Lateral view of a female White-throated Treecreeper
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, April 2006]

Female White-throated Treecreeper, different viewing angle
[January 2011]

Female White-throated Treecreeper, another angle (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, June 2012]

The same White-throated Treecreeper as shown above, now seen climbing a tree trunk
[Pilliga scrub, NSW, December 2011]

In different light conditions White-throated Treecreepers can appear much darker than shown above
[August 2007]

Distant views, taken in faint light at sunset, of a female White-throated Treecreeper taking a bath
[Pilliga scrub, NSW, September 2013]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Dec Eggs: 2 - 4 Incubation period: 21 - 22 days Fledging age: 25 days

Nest

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

Type: Tree hollow Material: Bark, fur, grass Height above ground: 1.5 - 20 m

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

Two White-throated Treecreeper chicks waiting in their nest; this hollow was only about 1.5 m above ground, which enabled us to take photos from this perspective
[Dripping Rock, near Maules Creek, NSW, October 2011]

The White-throated Treecreeper chicks' calls for food is what alerted us to the nest's location
[Dripping Rock, near Maules Creek, NSW, October 2011]

Food has arrived for White-throated Treecreeper chicks - dinnertime!
[Dripping Rock, near Maules Creek, NSW, October 2011]

Eggs

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

Size: 23 x 17 mm Colour: White with sparse brown specks Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial Mobility: Sedentary Elementary unit: Pair

White-throated Treecreepers can often be seen in pairs or family units, hunting for insects starting from the bottom of a tree going upwards.

Food, Diet

Like all treecreepers, White-throated Treecreepers forage for insects in the bark of trees and fallen timber.

As the photo below shows, they forage not only on trees, but along rock faces as well.

Male White-throated Treecreeper foraging on a rockface
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, November 2011]

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.

Once their loud, piercingly sharp, calls are known to the observer, White-throated Treecreepers are easy to locate in the bush. The calls have one of the highest volumes of any bird species in the neighbourhood.

wttrcrp_20140226.mp3 metastasis
(NW NSW)
Contact calls © MD
wttrcrp_20180131.m4a metastasis
(NW NSW)
Contact calls © MD
wttrcrp_20151016_2.m4a metastasis
(NW NSW)
Territorial calls(?) © MD
wttrcrp_20151016_3.m4a metastasis
(NW NSW)
Territorial calls(?) © MD
wttrcrp_20211210.m4a metastasis
(NW NSW)
Territorial calls(?) © MD
wttrcrp_20200801.m4a metastasis
(NW NSW)
Territorial calls(?) (Q&A) © MD
wttrcrp_20151016.m4a metastasis
(W NSW)
Male (calling female?) © MD
wttrcrp_20141225.mp3 metastasis
(NW NSW)
Feeding call(?) © MD
wttrcrp_20190912.m4a metastasis
(NW NSW)
Pair Q&A (foraging & feeding) © MD
wttrcrp_20190912_2.m4a metastasis
(NW NSW)
Pair Q&A (foraging & feeding) © MD
wttrcrp_20180131_2.m4a metastasis
(NW NSW)
? (Q&A?) © MD
wttrcrp_20191014.m4a metastasis
(NW NSW)
? (male; going to roost?) © MD
 
wttrcrp_me_20200927.m4a minor
(N QLD)
Male calling female? © ME
wttrcrp_me_20230816.mp3 minor
(N QLD)
Territorial calls?
(+ Fernwren)
© ME

On 13 March 2014 we noticed the following peculiarity: On five separate occasions a White-throated Treecreeper "triggered" a response by a group of Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters. Our recordings suggest a direct relation between the White-throated Treecreeper's call and the response. A single chirp did not warrant a response, but repeated calls did. The more vigorous the White-throated Treecreeper call, the more energetic the response by the Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters. The recordings are sorted by the intensity of the calls. In the last recording of the sequence, the Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters are "triggered" twice in quick succession.

yelthon_20140313_6.mp3 metastasis
(NW NSW)
Triggering other species © MD
yelthon_20140313_5.mp3 metastasis
(NW NSW)
Triggering other species © MD
yelthon_20140313_4.mp3 metastasis
(NW NSW)
Triggering other species © MD
yelthon_20140313.mp3 metastasis
(NW NSW)
Triggering other species © MD
yelthon_20140313_2.mp3 metastasis
(NW NSW)
Triggering other species © MD

More White-throated 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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.