alice river - a brown treecreeper
Your comments and faves are greatly appreciated. Many thanks.
Brown Treecreeper
Scientific Name: Climacteris picumnus
Description: The Brown Treecreeper is the largest of Australia's treecreepers. It is mostly pale brown in plumage. Birds of northern Queensland are darker brown. The head, throat and upper breast are pale greyish-brown, while the lower breast and belly are strongly streaked with black and buff. In flight, a buff stripe can be seen in the wing. The sexes are similar, except females have rufous edges to the feathers of the upper breast, while in the male these edges are black. Young Brown Treecreepers resemble the adults, but are duller, have less obvious stripes on the underparts and the lower belly is a pale rufous colour.
Similar species: Other treecreeper species that overlap in range with the Brown Treecreeper include the White-browed Treecreeper, Climacteris affinis, and the White-throated Treecreeper, Cormobates leucophaeus. The White-browed Treecreeper is darker grey-brown with a more distinct white stripe above the eye (edged with red-brown in the female). The eyebrow of the Brown Treecreeper is less distinct and is more buff. The smaller White-throated Treecreeper has much darker upperparts, a contrasting white throat and little or no marks above the eye.
Where does it live?
Habitat: Found in the drier open forests and woodlands, the Brown Treecreeper stays in the same area all year round.
Feeding: The Brown Treecreeper climbs up the trunks and branches of trees in search of food. It probes into cavities and under loose bark with its long downward curving bill. In this way it searches for insects and their larvae. The most favoured insects are ants. Some feeding also takes place on the ground on fallen logs. Sometimes, birds can be seen diving on ground-dwelling prey from a perch in a tree. Feeding normally takes place in pairs or small groups.
Breeding: The nest is a collection of grasses, feathers and other soft material, placed in a suitable tree hollow or similar site. Both sexes build the nest, but the female alone incubates the eggs. Pairs often have two broods during each breeding season. Occasionally, other birds ("helpers") assist the breeding pair with building of nest and feeding the young chicks. Brown Treecreepers are highly sociable birds, living and breeding communally. Each year, the previous year's offspring will remain to help the breeding male feed the female and rear new chicks. Interestingly, it is usually only males which remain to perform this duty.
Calls: The Brown Treecreeper has a loud 'spink' call, which is given either singly or in a series, and normally betrays its presence before the bird is seen.
Minimum Size: 16cm
Maximum Size: 18cm
Average size: 17cm
Average weight: 33g
Breeding season: June to January
Clutch Size: 2 to 3 eggs
Incubation: 17 days
Nestling Period: 26 days
(Source: www.birdsinbackyards.net/)
© Chris Burns 2021
__________________________________________
All rights reserved.
This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.
alice river - a brown treecreeper
Your comments and faves are greatly appreciated. Many thanks.
Brown Treecreeper
Scientific Name: Climacteris picumnus
Description: The Brown Treecreeper is the largest of Australia's treecreepers. It is mostly pale brown in plumage. Birds of northern Queensland are darker brown. The head, throat and upper breast are pale greyish-brown, while the lower breast and belly are strongly streaked with black and buff. In flight, a buff stripe can be seen in the wing. The sexes are similar, except females have rufous edges to the feathers of the upper breast, while in the male these edges are black. Young Brown Treecreepers resemble the adults, but are duller, have less obvious stripes on the underparts and the lower belly is a pale rufous colour.
Similar species: Other treecreeper species that overlap in range with the Brown Treecreeper include the White-browed Treecreeper, Climacteris affinis, and the White-throated Treecreeper, Cormobates leucophaeus. The White-browed Treecreeper is darker grey-brown with a more distinct white stripe above the eye (edged with red-brown in the female). The eyebrow of the Brown Treecreeper is less distinct and is more buff. The smaller White-throated Treecreeper has much darker upperparts, a contrasting white throat and little or no marks above the eye.
Where does it live?
Habitat: Found in the drier open forests and woodlands, the Brown Treecreeper stays in the same area all year round.
Feeding: The Brown Treecreeper climbs up the trunks and branches of trees in search of food. It probes into cavities and under loose bark with its long downward curving bill. In this way it searches for insects and their larvae. The most favoured insects are ants. Some feeding also takes place on the ground on fallen logs. Sometimes, birds can be seen diving on ground-dwelling prey from a perch in a tree. Feeding normally takes place in pairs or small groups.
Breeding: The nest is a collection of grasses, feathers and other soft material, placed in a suitable tree hollow or similar site. Both sexes build the nest, but the female alone incubates the eggs. Pairs often have two broods during each breeding season. Occasionally, other birds ("helpers") assist the breeding pair with building of nest and feeding the young chicks. Brown Treecreepers are highly sociable birds, living and breeding communally. Each year, the previous year's offspring will remain to help the breeding male feed the female and rear new chicks. Interestingly, it is usually only males which remain to perform this duty.
Calls: The Brown Treecreeper has a loud 'spink' call, which is given either singly or in a series, and normally betrays its presence before the bird is seen.
Minimum Size: 16cm
Maximum Size: 18cm
Average size: 17cm
Average weight: 33g
Breeding season: June to January
Clutch Size: 2 to 3 eggs
Incubation: 17 days
Nestling Period: 26 days
(Source: www.birdsinbackyards.net/)
© Chris Burns 2021
__________________________________________
All rights reserved.
This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.