Brown Treecreeper Climacteris picumnus Scientific name definitions

14–18 cm; 22–44 g. Male nominate race has brownish-grey crown and neck, blackish-grey lores and eyestripe, broad creamy supercilium, indistinct narrow whitish broken eyering, and buff ear-coverts streaked dark grey posteriorly; upperparts , including upperwing-coverts and tail, mid-brown, with broad black subterminal tailband; flight-feathers blackish-brown, broad pale buff diagonal bar across middle; cheek, chin and throat whitish to greyish-cream; breast light brownish-grey with small central patch of black and white streaks, lower breast, belly and flanks buff-brown with finely black-edged white stripes, undertail-coverts buffy white with broken black bars; iris dark brown; bill and legs greyish-black. Female is like male, but with streaks on breast chestnut and white. Juvenile differs from adult in having head darker and greyer, with indistinct pale grey supercilium, upperparts slightly darker and browner, markings on breast centre smaller (male) or hidden (female), streaking on lower underparts off-white and bordered with black spots (rather than lines), flanks, vent and undertail-coverts washed rufous-brown; bill dark grey with whitish cutting edges and gape, legs flesh-grey. Race <em>victoriae</em> is larger than nominate, with head markings duller and less distinct, upperparts browner, cheek, chin and throat often washed rufous, breast with faint pinky wash; melanotus is smaller than others, has upperparts uniform blackish-brown, and pale creamy-white bold supercilium, anterior ear-coverts, cheek, chin and throat contrasting with brownish-black crown, eyestripe and posterior ear-coverts.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Mostly woodlands dominated by eucalypts (Eucalyptus), especially rough-barked species such as stringybarks or boxes, usually with open grassy understorey and poorly developed shrub layer, and often with dead trees, abundant fallen timber or both. Also in open eucalypt (dry sclerophyll) forests comprising ironbarks and boxes or gums; found also in mallee woodland or shrubland, in river red gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) or river she-oaks (Casuarina) along creeks, in cypress pine (Callitris), in acacia (Acacia) open woodland (e.g. gidgee) and in semi-cleared pastures. Occurs in both unburnt and annually burnt habitats.

Sedentary. Of 752 recoveries of ringed individuals, all were less than 10 km from site of ringing.

Adult and larval insects, mainly ants (Formicidae); also spiders (Araneae); also occasionally takes nectar and sap from eucalypts. Of 3339 items in stomachs of specimens from NE New South Wales, ants represented c. 75% and larvae c. 20%; remainder mainly beetles (Coleoptera, of at least eight families), spiders, bugs (Hemiptera), flies (Diptera), wasps (Hymenoptera), grasshoppers (Orthoptera) and moths (Lepidoptera). At least nine genera of ants eaten; of 3303 ants from 22 specimens in one region, 63% were of genus Iridomyrmex and 6·5% Crematogaster. In 51 direct observations of feeding, larvae comprised 80% of prey and beetles 10%, but no ants recorded. Forages in trees and on ground in approximately equal proportions. At two sites in NE New South Wales, foraged on the ground or on logs 37–49% of time, on tree trunks c. 30–40% and on branches c. 10–20%; ground-foraging more frequent in winter and spring. At other sites in same region, 65% of foraging time spent on ground, 8% on logs, stumps and dead trees, and remainder on live trees (74–79% of time on trunk, 16–19% on boughs, and 5–7% on smaller branches). Prefers lower levels of trees, in one study spending 45% of time below 1 m and 25% at 1–2 m. Prefers rough-barked trees, such as stringybarks (at two sites, 34–55% of trees visited) and ironbarks or rough-barked species of box (28–30%), and less partial towards half-smooth boxes (10–16%), smooth-barked gums (5–6%) and dead trees (16%). Usually flies to base of tree, but sometimes climbs directly on to trunk from ground. Main foraging technique gleaning (more than 90%), but also probes bark strips and crevices; occasional aerial sallying, pouncing and flower-probing. No detected differences between sexes in foraging behaviour.

Main call a slightly upward-inflected staccato “pink ”, singly or repeated slowly 5–10 times on descending scale, sometimes accelerating and culminating in melodious whistles or cackles; also a series of 4–100 weaker monotonal notes with slight crescendo; harsh rasping rattle (usually in alarm); less frequently heard food-begging “dring” call, wails and chirps. Both sexes call, sometimes simultaneously, apparently duetting.

Season mid-Jul to early Dec; up to six nesting attempts per season, but usually only one brood (rarely, two) successfully reared. Breeds as pair, or as co-operative group consisting of primary (breeding) pair and up to six helpers (mostly males) per nest; helpers are mostly offspring from previous breeding seasons (intra-group helpers), but often also include breeding males and females, and non-breeding males, from adjacent territories (extra-group helpers). Nest-building mainly by breeding female, but breeding male and helpers bring lining material, even after clutch complete; nest a thickly woven cup of grass, bark, leaves, and occasionally human refuse such as aluminium foil, sometimes built on top of platform up to 40 cm deep consisting of grass, dung, charcoal and snake scales, nest lined with fur, wool, feathers, thistledown and/or snakeskin; usually placed in tree hollow, usually eucalypt, with entrance through hole in trunk or crack in side of limb, or open end of broken limb (“spout”), often dead one; of 41 nests at one site in NE New South Wales, 85% in dead tree or stump, 10% in dead spout of living tree and 5% in hole in living tree (63% were in vertical hollow, rest inclined or horizontal), and eight sites were reused in consecutive or subsequent years; artificial sites (e.g. hollow fence posts, nestboxes, chimneys, ventilation pipes, even old kettle) also used; nest-entrance diameter 6–13 cm, depth of hollow 20–260 cm (mean 59·3 cm); height above ground of 112 nests from different parts of range 0·3–25 m (mean 4m), and of a further 41 nests in NE New South Wales 1·2–12·2 m (mean 4·9 m); territory permanent, in New South Wales 1·5–4·5 ha (average 3·4 ha) in CW region and 6·8–20 ha (correlated with size of group) in NE, boundaries shifting only after disappearance of one or both members of breeding pair, or when non-breeding male establishes own breeding territory on a portion of his natal territory (known as “budding”); “super-territories” comprise up to six adjacent territories, among which group-members may move and help at several nests. Clutch 2–4 eggs, usually 3 (mean of 37 clutches throughout range 2·65, of 33 in NE New South Wales 2·82), smooth and slightly lustrous, pinkish-white ground almost obscured by freckles and mottling of purplish-red and reddish-brown (sometimes bigger and more numerous at larger end), with a few underlying violet-grey spots; laying interval normally 24 hours, but two instances of third egg laid at least 42 hours after second; incubation by female only, fed on nest by breeding male and by any helpers present, female attentiveness 57–63%, mean duration of incubation bouts in NE & CW New South Wales 12 and 17 minutes, respectively, and breaks 7 and 9 minutes; incubation period 15–16 days; chicks brooded by female (male continues to feed her for few days after young hatch), fed by both parents and by any helpers in group, 14·7 feeding visits per hour (50 nests, CW New South Wales); contribution of helpers often equal to that of primary pair but up to 60% (varies with number in group); nestling period 21–26 days; juveniles dependent for c. 30–40 days after fledging ; female capable of laying complete second clutch within 14 days after first brood fledges, and she will feed nestlings of second brood; most males (95%) that survive first winter delay dispersal from natal territory for at least one year, while majority (75%) of such females leave to search for breeding positions. Able to breed in first year. Maximum recorded longevity 13 years 11 months post-ringing; in South Australia, 10% of individuals recovered at least 6 years old; annual adult survival 76–78% in two studies (NE & CW New South Wales) and juvenile survival (to dispersal stage) 50% and 54%, respectively.

Not globally threatened. Locally common. N populations of race melanotus in far N Queensland have declined, and their range contracted since at least 1930s, probably as a result of increased severity of fires; these trends may date back to start of European occupation. Densities in S vary from 0·01–0·27 birds/ha (NE New South Wales) to 0·42 birds/ha (Victoria) and 0·78 birds/ha (CW New South Wales). S populations adversely affected by clearance and fragmentation of habitat, and removal of dead and fallen timber; in NE New South Wales, least abundant in smaller (6–20 ha) woodland patches and absent in smallest ones (less than 6 ha), but a detailed study suggested that connectivity of remnants was more important than remnant size, primarily because of females’ reluctance to disperse over large distances of unsuitable habitat.