Brown Creeper
Certhia americana
The Brown Creeper always climbs in a spiral pattern up a tree trunk and then flies down to the base of the next tree to start again.
- Scientific name
- Certhia americana
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Certhiidae › Certhia
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Mature coniferous and mixed-deciduous forests with large-diameter trees.
- Diet
- Small insects, spiders, larvae, and pupae hidden in bark crevices; occasionally seeds in winter.
- Range
- Canada, United States, Mexico, Central American highlands
- Size
- Length: 12-14 cm; Wingspan: 17-20 cm; Weight: 5-10 g
- Lifespan
- 2-4 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Deforestation, logging of old-growth timber, and loss of standing dead trees used for nesting.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and shy. Maintain a quiet distance to observe their unique spiral climbing behavior. They pose no threat to humans; if found injured, contact a local wildlife rehabilitator.
The brown creeper ( Certhia americana ), also known as the American treecreeper , is a small songbird, the only North American member of the treecreeper family Certhiidae.
Photo: Carrie Seltzer, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/ac68c765-f57b-43f6-9d75-176ba9f091c8.md