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Red-browed Treecreeper

Did you know?

Climacteris in the Red-browed Treecreeper's scientific name comes from  the Greek word for the rung of a ladder, referring to its tree climbing habits. Erythrops refers to its red eye-patch. 

Calls
The Red-browed Treecreeper has five known calls. There is a "chatter" given by one bird which is answered by a ""retort", a grating sound, a shrill call and a "hiss". The "chatter" is the most common call, described as "a rapid, slightly descending succe
Facts and Figures
Research Species: 
No
Minimum Size: 
14cm
Maximum Size: 
16cm
Average size: 
15cm
Average weight: 
23g
Breeding season: 
late August - early February
Clutch Size: 
2
Incubation: 
18 days
Conservation Status
NSW: 
Secure
NT: 
Not present
QLD: 
Secure
SA: 
Not present
TAS: 
Not present
VIC: 
Secure
WA: 
Not present
Associated Plants
Plants associated with this species
See Habitat section
Basic Information
Scientific Name: 
Climacteris erythrops
Featured bird groups: 
Small insect-eating birds
Atlas Number: 
560
What does it look like?
Description: 

Treecreepers typically forage by hopping up tree trunks and up and along branches, hence their name. The Red-browed Treecreeper can also be called Red Eyebrowed Treecreeper; or Woodpecker. The adult is mostly dark grey with a contrasting brown saddle, white streaking on its underside, a white throat and a reddish-brown eye-patch. The female usually has a darker eye-patch and has its upper breast streaked reddish-brown and white. The Red-browed Treecreepers are generally seen in pairs or small groups.

Similar species: 

The White-throated Treecreeper, Cormobates leucophaeus, is similar, but the Red-browed has a distinctive chattering call. The latter's grey head and neck, contrasting with the brown saddle is also distinctive.

Where does it live?
Distribution: 

The Red-browed Treecreeper is found in south-east Queensland, on and east of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, and in eastern Victoria.

Habitat: 

The Red-browed Treecreeper is found in forests and woodlands of coastal plains and the ranges and western slopes of the Great Dividing Range. It inhabits areas with Eucalypts which shed bark from their trunks and limbs. It can be found near watercourses, in gullies, on slopes and ridges, and on tablelands and escarpments below about 1500 m. 

Seasonal movements: 

The Red-browed Treecreeper is a sedentary species, mostly staying in the one area.

What does it do?
Feeding: 

The Red-browed Treecreeper feeds almost exclusively on insects, mostly ants living under the bark of trees. They  typically forage by hopping up tree trunks and up and along branches, but they also forage on the ground.

Breeding: 

Red-browed Treecreepers nest in pairs or in groups which usually consist of a breeding female, a primary male and two male helpers. The helpers are young that stay with the parents. Nests are in hollows in a near-vertical tree trunk or limb. The nest is built at the bottom of the hollow. It is made of bark fibre, dry grass or vegetable fibre, and has a lining, usually of fur. The female builds the nest, initially, but the male(s) help. The female incubates the eggs, while the male(s) feed her. All feed the young.

References: 
Field guide to the birds of Australia, 6th Edition
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Volume 5 {(Tyrant-flycatchers} to Chats).
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