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Help develop a Bird ID tool!

Brown Creeper

Certhia americana ORDER: PASSERIFORMES FAMILY: CERTHIIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

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Distinctive in habits and morphology, the Brown Creeper is a small, well-camouflaged bird of woodlands. It creeps along tree trunks, spiraling upward, picking invertebrates from the bark with its curved and pointed bill.

Come watch nesting birds at Nestcams.org

Appearance

Nuthatchlike
Nuthatchlike
Typical Voice

Adult Description

  • Small songbird.
  • Upperparts streaked brown and white.
  • Underparts whitish.
  • Long thin bill.
  • Long tail.
  • Creeps up tree trunks.

Immature Description

Similar to adult, but with light spotting on underparts and duller upperparts.

Range Map Help

Brown Creeper Range Map
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Field MarksHelp

  • Adult
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    Brown Creeper

    Adult
    • Very small with slender, decurved bill
    • Patterned brown above, white below
    • Climbs up tree trunks using tail as a prop
    • © Lew Ulrey, Boise, Idaho, November 2010
  • Adult
    Zoom In

    Brown Creeper

    Adult
    • Almost always perched vertically on tree trunks
    • Thin, decurved bill
    • Upperparts color ranges from pale grayish-brown, to darker chocolate brown
    • Stiff tail-feathers always propped against trunk
    • © Bob Gunderson, San Francisco, California, September 2011
  • Adult
    Zoom In

    Brown Creeper

    Adult
    • Small and nuthatch-like
    • Very thin, decurved black bill
    • Patterned brown back
    • White below
    • © The Nature Nook, New Hampshire, April 2010
  • Adult
    Zoom In

    Brown Creeper

    Adult
    • Small and nuthatch-like
    • Slender, decurved bill
    • Uses stiff tail feathers to prop itself against tree trunks
    • Patterned brown above, pale gray or white below
    • © Ron Kube, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, February 2009

Similar Species

  • Nuthatches are not streaked, and climb headfirst down tree trunks.
  • Black-and-white Warbler forages similarly, but is boldly striped black-and-white, and does not use its tail as a prop against the trunk.