Short-Toed Treecreeper
Certhia brachydactyla
Also known as: Short-Toed Tree-Creeper
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
8 g
About This Species
Watch tree trunks in deciduous and mixed woodland for a mouse-like bird spiralling upward in short jerky hops, probing bark crevices with a fine curved bill before dropping to the base of the next trunk. Its presence is often given away by a thin, high-pitched call rather than by sight. It is resident year-round, but winter and early spring, before leaves fill the canopy, make it easiest to pick out against bare trunks.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- A respectful distance of several metres is enough, since this species is easily overlooked and rarely reacts to quiet, still observers; sudden movement or attempts to approach the trunk it is working will flush it.
- Wild birds, their nests, and eggs are protected across its European range, including under national laws implementing the EU Birds Directive, so nest holes and hollows should not be approached or disturbed.
LCAvesPasseriformesCerthiidae
Seasonal Activity
1,691,323 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Certhiidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 8 g
Photo
(c) Luigi Andena, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Luigi Andena
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.