Short-toed treecreeper

Certhia brachydactyla

Photo by Aleix Comas (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
short-toed treecreeper (en); trepadeira-comum (pt); grimpereau des jardins (fr); agateador común (es); gartenbaumläufer (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Certhiidae

Range:
This species is found in western Europe, from the Iberian Peninsula north to Denmark and east to Poland, western Ukraine, Bulgaria and western Turkey. There are also populations in the Caucasus mountain range and in north-western Africa from Morocco to Tunisia.

Size:
These birds are 12-14 cm long and have a wingspan of 18-21 cm. They weigh 7,5-11 g.

Habitat:
The short-toed treecreeper is mostly found in temperate forests and woodlands, especially oak Quercus, also using dry tropical forests, dry scrublands, plantations, arable land, and gardens.

Diet:
They probe tree bark in search of various invertebrates, namely spiders and their eggs, and insect larvae.

Breeding:
Short-toed treecreepers breed in March-June. They nest in tree crevices or behind bark flakes, also using old woodpecker nests, crevices in walls and nest boxes. The nest is a bulky cup made of twigs, bark strips, moss, and leaves, with soft linings. The female lays 5-7 eggs,which she incubates alone for 13-15 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 15-18 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and a global population estimated at 2,7-11,7 million individuals. The population has undergone a moderate decline in recent decades, possibly due to habitat lossand fragmentation, but it is not threatened at present.

Brown creeper

Certhia americana

Common name:

brown creeper (en); trepadeira-americana (pt); grimpereau brun (fr); agateador americano (es); Andenbaumläufer (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Certhiidae

Range:

This species is found throughout the United States, and southern Alaska and Canada, and also along the Atlantic coast of Central America down to northern Panama. They are resident over most of their range, but the more northern population migrate south for winter.

Size:

Brown creepers are 12-14 cm long and have a wingspan of 17-20 cm. They weigh 7-10 g.

Habitat:

These birds live in coniferous forests and mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, requiring large trees (dead or alive) namely older red cedars, spruce-fir, and mixed conifers.

Diet:

Brown creepers primarily eat small arthropods such as spiders, psudoscorpions, and insects like stinkbugs, fruit flies, and weevils. Brown creepers also eat seeds and other vegetable matter during the winter.

Breeding:

These birds are monogamous, breeding in April-July. The male and female chose the nest site together, but the female builds the nest using cocoons and spider egg cases, anchored to inner surface of bark, and a cup made of fine pieces of bark, fibres, leaves, mosses, and feathers. There the female lays 3-7 white eggs with pink or brown spots, which she incubates alone for 13-17 days while the male brings her food. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 15-17 days after hatching, but continue to be fed by the parents for at least 2 weeks. Each pair raises a single clutch per year.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and a global population of 5,4 million individuals. Although this species is affected by habitat loss and degradation in some parts of their range, the overall population trend is stable.