Eurasian/short-toed treecreepers -- Cottbus, Germany (1 Viewer)

[Henry_Flower]

Hi, is it possible to id these treecreepers from some distant photos? Both species are generally present in the area. There were no audible calls.

Bird 1:



Bird 2 (may be the same bird -- I saw them a few minutes apart):



Thanks!

 

[Vyomkesh]

Bird 2 (may be the same bird -- I saw them a few minutes apart):

Short-Toed? Supercilium looks too big (from Wikipedia images) for Eurasian.

 

[Butty]

Supercilium looks too big (from Wikipedia images) for Eurasian.

Is that a known ID criterion?

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Is that a known ID criterion?

Agree with you, Butty. And more: while variable, its often/regularthe other way round:
Eurasian has a long supercilium that often reaches far down the neck= flaring into the nape and is equally distinct in fron of the eye, while in Short-toed is often/regular indistincter in fron of the eye=doesnt seem to reach the bill.

For the ID: your pictures show well, how hard it is to be certain with the fine features with unsharp pictures (no offense as always). For the first bird: it seems that even the rear-flanks are pure white, lacking even the finest brownish hue. If this indeed the case, then I think its a quite sure Eurasian TC, while I cant ID the second bird and even could decide, which species would be a better fit (even in quiz modus, I would let a coin decide). No offense, again.

 

[Vyomkesh]

Is that a known ID criterion?

Told after looking at Wiki images, not much. That's whythe question mark

 

[Butty]

It's not safe to create an ID criterion for such a difficult species-pair by looking at a couple of photos on the internet.

 

[Vyomkesh]

It's not safe to create an ID criterion for such a difficult species-pair by looking at a couple of photos on the internet.

Ok, thanks

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

I forgot an important thing: if others with more experience can ID these two birds with confidence, I would be happy to learn, as always.

 

[Henry_Flower]

Thanks for the discussion, everyone! I've logged it as one Eurasian for now.

 

[lou salomon]

it leave it as Certhia sp.!

 

[Henry_Flower]

it leave it as Certhia sp.!

Probably best -- I've changed it.