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Eurasian Treecreeper
(Certhia familiaris)
: "Common Treecreeper",
"Treecreeper"
 German name(s): "Waldbaumläufer"
Size: 12.5-14 cm; wing span: 17.5-21 cm
Weight: 7-13 g
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Similar
species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Eurasian Treecreepers are small woodland birds.
Their plumage is
highly cryptic.
Their upperparts are grey to greyish-brown, with copious streaks
and scalloping in a cryptic
pattern. They have white supercilia, dark-grey eye-stripes and
a mostly white front, except for a slight brown tinge on belly,
vent and undertail coverts. The folded upperwings are camouflaged
by an intricate pattern of black and grey-brown bars with white
specks. They have a characteristic big notch in their grey-brown
wing bar. Their tail, which is grey-brown with a somewhat darker
tip, is made of spiny feathers that help support the bird's weight
while clinging to a tree trunk.
The irises are dark-brown. The fine, down-curved bill
has a grey upper mandible and an horn-coloured lower mandible.
The legs and feet are grey.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Eurasian
Treecreeper at Wikipedia  .
Click here for classification information
The 3 races found around the Himalayas and south-eastern China will
probably soon be given full species status as Hodgson's Treecreeper,
Certhia hodgsonii.
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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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
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The global distribution of the Eurasian Treecreeper is available
HERE
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There are about 10 extant races of Eurasian Treecreepers
(for details see a field guide or, e.g. Wikipedia
), which have a wide-ranging overall
distribution.
Their overall range extends from the British Isles in the West to
Japan in the East, and from inland Greece in the South to the base
of the Kola peninsula in the North. In Asia the North-South extent
of their range is smaller, covering basically the southern half of
Russia, plus north-eastern China and the length of Japan.
They are sedentary over most of their range. There are only two areas
where migratory populations spend the northern winters, namely in the
western part of Kazakhstan and in far-eastern Mongolia.
While in the northern parts of their range they breed down to sea level,
they tend to be highland specialists in the southern parts of their
range, nesting at altitudes of typically above 1000 m, and up to more
than 2000 m.
With a few exceptions (in northern Iberia, parts of France
and in the Apennine mountians of Italy), Eurasian Treecreepers
are sedentary on the British Isles, in the southern two thirds
of Scandinavia and continental Europe, anywhere eastward of the
river Rhine. While not found along the Mediterranean coastal
fringe, they are present in the Balkans and in inland Greece.
They are also sedentary in much of eastern Europe, out to the
Ural mountains. In the North of their eastern European range,
from central Finland eastward into continental Russia, they
are found as summer breeding migrants, while in the Benelux
countries and around the Danube River they are present only
during the winter months.
Eurasian Treecreepers have a preference for forest and woodland,
in particular dense patches therein. They are heavily reliant
on trees with partially detached strips of bark for foraging,
nesting and for sheltering in cold weather.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Race "familiaris"
D. Wilczynska reports spotting an Eurasian Treecreeper, nominate race
"familiaris",
near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, in August 2016.
S. Cuturilov reports finding and ringing an Eurasian Treecreeper, nominate race
"familiaris",
at Vlasina Lake, Serbia, in October 2019.
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Photos |
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Race "familiaris"
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ADULT |
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Lateral view of an Eurasian Treecreeper; this bird was caught
to be ringed and released again (photo courtesy of S. Cuturilov)
[Vlasina Lake, Serbia, October 2019]
View straight onto the back of an Eurasian Treecreeper;
the only diagnostic feature distinguishing it from the similar
Short-toed Treecreeper
is the big notch in the light-brown wing bars - click on image
to see those highlighted by arrows; all other diagnostic
features are hidden in this view (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]
Direct comparison between the two species of European treecreeper:
Short-toed Treecreeper,
left, and Eurasian Treecreeper, right; note the "even step pattern" on
the left and the gap in the "step pattern" on the right
(photos courtesy of J. Pires, left,
and D. Wilczynska, right)
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Call(s)/Song |
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For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The
interpretation of their meaning is our own; are welcome.
More Eurasian Treecreeper sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
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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.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
are welcome.