There are seven

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of Australasian treecreeper in the

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Climacteridae. They are medium-small, mostly brown birds with patterning on their underparts, and all are endemic to

Australia-New Guinea The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts as Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, or Meganesia to distinguish it from the country of Australia, is located within the Southern and Eastern hemispheres, near t ...

. They resemble, but are not closely related to, the

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...

treecreeper The treecreepers are a family, Certhiidae, of small passerine birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The family contains nine species in one genus, '' Certhia''. Their plumage is dull-coloured. As their name implies, they ...

s. The family is one of several families identified by DNA–DNA hybridisation studies to be part of the Australo-Papuan songbird radiation. There is some molecular support for suggesting that their closest relatives are the large

lyrebird A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus ''Menura'', and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their impressive ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environme ...

s. As their name implies, treecreepers forage for insects and other small creatures living on and under the bark of trees, mostly

eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

s, though several species also hunt on the ground, through leaf-litter, and on fallen timber. Unlike the Holarctic treecreepers they do not use their tail for support when climbing tree trunks, only their feet. Australasian treecreepers

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

in holes in trees. The species in the family hold breeding

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

, although the extent to which they are defended and last varies. Some species, such as the

red-browed treecreeper The red-browed treecreeper (''Climacteris erythrops'') is a species of bird in the family Climacteridae. It is endemic to temperate and subtropical eastern Australia. It is found in mature eucalypt forests and woodlands in both coastal and mount ...

and the

brown treecreeper The brown treecreeper (''Climacteris picumnus'') is the largest Australasian treecreeper. The bird, endemic to eastern Australia, has a broad distribution, occupying areas from Cape York, Queensland, throughout New South Wales and Victoria to P ...

are cooperative breeders, others, like the

white-throated treecreeper The white-throated treecreeper (''Cormobates leucophaea'') is an Australian treecreeper found in the forests of eastern Australia. It is also called Dilmun in the Gathang language of the Worimi people, who reside in eastern Port Stephens and Grea ...

are not. The cooperative breeders form groups or a single breeding pair as well as up to three helpers, which are usually the young males of previous pairings. Helpers assist with the construction of the nest, feeding of the incubating female and feeding and defending the young.

Description

The Australasian treecreepers are small

oscine A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...

songbirds, measuring in length and weighing . They have relatively long tails, short legs with strong feet, stout bodies and longish and slightly down-curved bills. The

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

of this family is dull, trending towards brown, reddish-brown or greyish brown above and paler below. There is usually some

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

in plumage, with females having some reddish colour in the head or breast that is absent in the males. Other differences between the sexes are common, and can arise very early in the life of these birds, being present even in late-stage nestlings. They are poor fliers, with their flight described as undulating and gliding.

Distribution and habitat

All the Australian treecreepers are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Australia except for one species restricted to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. They are found across much of Australia except for the large island of Tasmania, possibly because they are poor fliers and unable to disperse across water barriers, or possibly because of a lack of bark-dwelling invertebrates to feed on. Across their global distribution they occupy a wide range of habitats. The

Papuan treecreeper The Papuan treecreeper (''Cormobates placens'') is a species of bird in the family Climacteridae. It was previously considered a subspecies of the white-throated treecreeper (''C. leucophaea''). It is found in the highlands of New Guinea ...

is found in mid-montane to montane forested habitats on New Guinea, from . The white-browed treecreeper inhabits acacia and ''Casuarina'' woodlands in deserts in southern Australia. Other species inhabit subtropical rainforest, eucalypt woodlands and southern beech forests. The brown treecreeper is semi-terrestrial and can live in more open woodland habitats, but is still sensitive to the loss of its habitat. The Australasian treecreepers are essentially non-migratory, although there are distinct differences in the dispersal of young birds after fledging, especially between the two genera.

Behaviour

Diet and feeding

The Australasian treecreepers principally forage for arthropods found on the bark of trees, but they will also take prey from the ground and will eat tree sap and nectar from flowers. They commonly obtain insect prey by gleaning from surface of bark, but will also probe into holes and pull at loose strips of bark and flick underneath it with their quadrifid tongue.

Breeding

The breeding season lasts from June into January, the birds lay 2-3 eggs per clutch with an incubation time of 17 days. Nests are built by both male and female with soft materials like grass and feathers. The treecreeper will often get helper birds to feed chicks or contribute to the nest.

Taxonomy

References

External links

Australasian Treecreeper videos
on the Internet Bird Collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q614518 Birds of Oceania