What do Brown Treecreepers look like?
The Brown Treecreeper is the largest treecreeper found in Australia. They have pale brown plumage. The head, throat and upper breast are pale greyish-brown and lower breast and belly are streaked black and buff. They have dark lines through the eye and dark crowns. The males and females can be differentiated by the edge colour of their plumage (males have black edges and females have rufous edges).
Where are Brown Treecreepers found?
Found mostly within eastern Australia, the Brown Treecreeper relies on eucalypt forests and woodlands. They are less commonly located around coastal plains.
Fast facts:
- Brown Treecreepers live in large groups, with eight to 12 birds sharing a territory of one to 10 hectares.
- Treecreeper clans need large areas of undisturbed, old forests. The average family territory is 4 and a half hectares, an area large enough to provide sufficient food, shelter and nesting.
Brown Treecreeper
Eucalyptus forests from Cape York to southern Victoria and eastern South Australia are home to an early breeder, the Brown Treecreeper, Climacteris picumnus.
Brown Treecreepers live in large groups, with eight to 12 birds sharing a territory of one to 10 hectares. They prefer open forests and woodlands and stay in the same area all year round. Each year, the male offspring of the breeding pair stay on to help raise the next generation of chicks.
Treecreepers nest in old trees with hollows. They line the hollow with grass and feathers and the eggs are incubated for 27 days. Once the chicks hatch, all family members help to feed them.
Brown Treecreepers find their favourite food, ants, in the cracks of bark and around fallen logs. They normally feed in pairs or in small groups.
Treecreeper clans need large areas of undisturbed, old forests. The average family territory is 4 and a half hectares, an area large enough to provide sufficient food, shelter and nesting.
Without old growth forests, treecreepers will struggle to find enough suitable habitat to survive. Land clearing has reduced forests to a point where the birds are under threat of extinction in NSW and the ACT. In some areas they have already disappeared.
