Photo: Marj Kibby.
This species lives in eastern Australia in eucalypt woodland forests in savanna, mallee and river red gum country. Brown Treecreepers are secure in QLD, SA and VIC. They are not present in NT, TAS and WA, and are listed as vulnerable in NSW.
Brown Treecreepers are a dull grey-brown colour with a grey crown and nape. Their faces are a buff colour.
Listen to the call of the Brown Treecreeper here.
They breed from June to January and even earlier if they live inland, and can breed later if they live far east. They build nests of fine grasses, and line them with fur or features. Their nests are ususally located in a hollow limb or trunk one to three metres high, or even up to 15 m of more.
Very rarely they will nest in a fence post or in the hollow of a riverbank. Brown Treecreepers usually have two to four eggs, which are pale pink in colour and have red or purple spots. Eggs are incubated for fifteen days and the young remain in the nest for a further fifteen days.
According to the Birds in Backyards entry on the Brown Treecreeper - "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."
Foundation Projects
Brown Treecreeper Reintroductions
From October 2009 to December 2011, the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife has funded the first experimental reintroductions of the threatened Brown Treecreeper, Climacteris picumnus. This species will be released into Mulligans Flat and Goorooyarroo Nature Reserves in the Australian Capital Territory, where large-scale habitat restoration experiments are ongoing. The project will be undertaken by the Fenner School of Environment & Society at the Australian National University.
