From Opus

Alternative name: American Treecreeper.

Certhia americana

Photo by Kevin Thompson.

[edit] Identification

5-5 3/4" (13-15 cm). Smaller than a sparrow. A slender, streaked, brown bird, tinged with buff on flanks.

[edit] Distribution

Breeds from Alaska, Ontario, and Newfoundland southward throughout western mountains, Great Lakes region, North Carolina, and New England. Winters in breeding range and south to Gulf Coast and Florida.

[edit] Taxonomy

American Treecreeper is one of eight treecreepers in the genus Certhia; at least the two species in Europe are quite similar to the American species in also being cryptically patterned. About twelve subspecies of Certhia americana are currently recognized.

[edit] Habitat

Deciduous and mixed woodlands.

[edit] Behaviour

This species is usually seen creeping up tree trunks, using its long, stiff tail for support

Nesting: 6 or 7 white eggs, lightly speckled with brown, in a cup of bark shreds, feathers, sticks, and moss, usually placed against a tree trunk behind a peeling slab of bark.

[edit] Vocalisation

Call: A high-pitched, lisping tsee.

Song: A tinkling, descending warble.

[edit] External Links