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Short-Toed Treecreeper

Short-Toed Treecreeper

Certhia brachydactyla

Identify the Short-Toed Treecreeper by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Short-toed Treecreeper is a small, resident woodland bird of much of warmer Europe and north-west Africa. Subtly patterned brown above and whitish below, it closely resembles the Eurasian Treecreeper but generally prefers lower-lying deciduous woods. It nests in crevices or behind loose bark, typically laying around six eggs.

Did you know?

  • Even in the hand, about 5% of individuals cannot be safely told from the Eurasian Treecreeper.
  • Unlike a nuthatch, it never climbs down trunks head-first.

Voice

Song
Call

About the species

Identification

Very like the Eurasian Treecreeper, but greyer-brown above, duller and more brownish on the flanks, with a less distinct supercilium, a slightly longer bill and a shorter hind claw. Song and calls are the best features.

Family

Certhiidae

Size

Tiny (goldcrest)

Colours

brown, white, grey, black

About the habitat

Mature deciduous and mixed woodland, parks, orchards and large gardens, mainly in lowlands; in North Africa and Turkey more in mountains.

Diet

Mainly small insects and spiders picked from bark crevices with its fine, curved bill; some seeds in winter.

Behaviour

A quiet, inconspicuous bird that starts low on a trunk and works upward in short hops, bracing with its stiff tail, then flies to the base of the next tree. Largely sedentary. Both parents feed the young, and a second brood is often attempted. Its song is a short, rhythmic series of loud notes, distinct from the Eurasian Treecreeper's.

Sources

Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla brachydactyla).jpg

Sound: Benoît Van Hecke, XC543231, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/543231

Sound: Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart, XC474868, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/474868

Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-toed_treecreeper

See also