Page 356 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

NUTHATCHES,WALLCREEPER,AND TREECREEPERS
Order Passeriformes Family Certhiidae Species Certhia familiaris
Treecreeper fine, curved
bill
whitish stripe
whitish over eye
wingbar
silky white
underside
cream and
blackish mottling
notched on brown back
brown
tail

IN FLIGHT

large but
slender feet
FLIGHT: weak, low, undulating; typically from high
in one tree to base of next.
rounded black patch on
ven more closely associated with the wings; pale bar lacks
E bark of trees than the Nuthatch, the saw-toothed edge of
Short-toed’s
Treecreeper can cling beneath a branch, pale feather
shafts on tail
hanging freely by its toes, but usually
sits upright, propped up on its tail.
It sometimes forages on the twigs
of smaller bushes, more rarely on
stone walls.Typically,Treecreepers
work their way upwards on tree
trunks and larger branches, often
spiralling, before flying down to
the next to begin the upward search for food once
more.They are often on the edges of mixed tit
flocks in autumn and winter.
VOICE Call thin, long, high seee and more vibrant
srreee; song frequent, high, musical, like thin Willow
Warbler’s in pattern, falling trill with final flourish.
NESTING Untidy nest behind loose bark or ivy
stem, sometimes in nest box; 5 or 6 eggs; 1 brood; STRONG GRIP
April–June. Treecreepers use their sharp claws and strong toes to grip tightly on
FEEDING Takes insects, SIMILAR SPECIES rough bark, the tail adding stability and balance.
spiders, and other tiny OCCURRENCE
items from bark, probing Breeding bird and year-round
with bill as it shuffles up resident in Great Britain and Ireland,
or around trunks and duller local in France, N Spain and east
underside
branches; also forages on across Europe. In mixed, deciduous,
walls,and occasionally rocks. or coniferous woods, parks, along
REMARK Subspecies SHORT-TOED tall hedges, and sometimes in
C. f. familiaris (Scandinavia) TREECREEPER well-wooded gardens.
different call
is whiter over eye and very and song; Seen in the UK
white below. see p.355 J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 12.5cm (5in) Wingspan 18–21cm (7–8 1 ⁄2in) Weight 8–12g ( 5 ⁄16 – 7 ⁄16oz)
Social Mixed flocks Lifespan 2–3 years Status Secure
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