Interactive Woodland

Woodland

Treecreeper

Certhia familiaris

A small, mouse-like bird, streaky brown above and white below, with a fine curved beak.

Size
About 12.5cm long
Look for it
All year round
Where
Woods, parks and gardens with big old trees

My spotter's list

Flits after you and pecks about for insects. Move your pointer and see.

When to look

JFMAMJJASOND
Treecreeper

Good to know

Six things about the treecreeper

Climbing

Always upwards

A treecreeper climbs up a trunk in a spiral, then flies down to the bottom of the next tree and starts again.

Beak

Tweezers

Its long, thin, curved beak is perfect for picking insects and spiders out of cracks in the bark.

Tail

A stiff prop

It leans on its stiff tail feathers as it climbs, just like a woodpecker does.

Nest

Behind the bark

Treecreepers build their nest behind a flap of loose bark.

Colour

Bark coloured

Its streaky brown back matches the tree so well that it can look like a mouse running up the trunk.

Winter

Huddling up

On cold winter nights, several treecreepers may squeeze into one sheltered hollow in a trunk to keep warm.

The real thing

Photos of the treecreeper

Treecreeper, photo 1
Photo: Zhanna Tyshchuk, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Treecreeper, photo 2
Photo: Enel Lepik, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Treecreeper, photo 3
Photo: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Out and about

How to spot one

Watch the trunk of a big, rough-barked tree for what looks like a mouse spiralling upwards. It always starts near the bottom and works up.

Lend a hand

How to help

Keep old trees with loose bark and ivy. A wedge-shaped nest box fixed flat against a trunk suits them.

Keep going

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