Brown Creeper
Certhia americana
Also known as: American Tree-Creeper, American Treecreeper, American Brown Creeper
About This Species
A small, cryptically patterned bird of mature forest, it forages by spiraling up tree trunks from the base, probing bark crevices with its thin downcurved bill before flying down to the base of the next tree to start again. Its bark-like mottled brown-and-white plumage makes it easy to overlook, so the best approach is to listen for its very high, thin, wavering song and call notes rather than scan visually. Winter and early spring, when deciduous trees are bare, make it easier to pick out against tree trunks in mixed and coniferous woodland across North America.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Because it forages low on trunks and pays little attention to quiet observers, standard birdwatching distance without approaching directly is normally sufficient to watch it work its way up a tree.
- It is protected under migratory bird treaty legislation in the United States and equivalent legislation in Canada, both of which cover nest disturbance; its nest is tucked behind loose bark, so avoiding prying at bark or peeling it back on likely nest trees during the April to July breeding season is worth noting.
- Otherwise this species requires no unusual precautions.
Seasonal Activity
2,802,812 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Certhiidae
Photo
(c) terence zahner, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by terence zahner
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.