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Brown Creeper

Certhia americanaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Creeper (Certhiidae)

Brown Creeper Portrait
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General

Brown Creeper: Small, tree-clinging bird with brown-streaked upperparts and white underparts. White line over eye and long, decurved bill are conspicuous. Sexes are similar. Uses stiff tail for support when climbing.

Range and Habitat

Brown Creeper: Breeds from Alaska to Newfoundland and southward to the western and northern U.S. Spends winters in breeding range and south to the Gulf coast and Florida. Preferred habitats include deciduous and mixed woodlands.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"see-see-titi-see", "tsee"

Interesting Facts

  • Brown Creepers will freeze when threatened, often with outspread wings, and remain motionless for several minutes. At these times, their brown plumage is such an effective camouflage they can be nearly invisible.
  • They start at the bottom of a tree, spiral upward pecking insects as it ascends, then hops down to the base of the next tree and begins again.
  • In some areas their nests often have two openings, one that serves as an entrance and the other as an exit.
  • A group of creepers are collectively known as a "sleeze" and a "spiral" of creepers.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Brown Creeper
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Certhia americana
Length5.25 Inches
Wingspan7.5 Inches

Brown Creeper

Brown Creeper: Small, tree-clinging bird with brown-streaked upperparts and white underparts. White line over eye and long, decurved bill are conspicuous. Legs and feet are pink-buff. Feeds on insects, larvae, nuts and seeds. Strong direct flights of short duration on rapid and shallow wing beats.

● Song: "see-see-titi-see", "tsee"

● Foraging & Feeding: Brown Creeper: Diet consists of various insects, seeds, and some nuts; also come to feeders for suet. Usually forages by creeping along trunks and branches like a woodpecker.

● Breeding & nesting: Brown Creeper: Four to eight white eggs, lightly speckled with red brown, are laid in a cup of shredded bark, feathers, sticks, and moss, usually built against a tree trunk behind a peeling slab of bark. Incubation ranges from 13 to 17 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Brown Creeper: None in range.

Flight Pattern

Strong direct flight of short duration.
Brown Creeper Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Brown Creeper: Breeds from Alaska to Newfoundland and southward to the western and northern U.S. Spends winters in breeding range and south to the Gulf coast and Florida. Preferred habitats include deciduous and mixed woodlands.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.3 Ounces