Brown Creeper

By Beth Gardner

I must admit, the Brown Creeper is one of my favorite birds. What is it about this little drab bird? Is it the humorous behavior? Is it the mystery of the bird? Or is it just the funny name? With a name like that you are left wondering if this is a bird, weed, or earthworm.

The Brown Creeper is the only member of the Treecreeper family found in North America (the rest are in Europe, Asia and Africa). It does indeed creep (walk) straight up a tree trunk. The short stiff tail acts like a tripod to hold the bird against the trunk. The Brown Creeper has a long, slender and slightly downcurved bill. The bird has a white chest and dark brown back that blend in very well with tree trunks. It can be almost invisible until it moves. This is part of the charm. When you spot one, it is a small victory, and you feel like an amazing birder. When you examine the bird more closely, the Brown Creeper has a lovely, dappled pattern and is not drab at all.

Brown Creepers love to eat small spiders, insect eggs, stinkbugs, weevils, beetles and other insects or arthropods that hide in tree barks. Therefore, it is no surprise that their favorite habitats are mature conifer trees with deeply furrowed barks. Big, old trees are their favorite and it doesn’t matter if the tree is living or dead. They have an interesting method of gathering food. They fly to the base of a tree and then start walking up the trunk in a zigzag or spiral pattern, searching and probing. After a bit, they simply fly to the next tree base and start all over. Up and down, over and over. The Brown Creeper never walks down a tree and rarely touches the ground.

I tend to spot the Brown Creeper in the winter when I feed birds. The Nuthatches and Chickadees arrive in a swarm and gather the seeds. After careful watching, I notice a piece of bark has suddenly moved. Aha! This is a Brown Creeper. It never actually comes to the feeder but instead minds its own business on the tree trunk. Eventually the other birds fly off and the Brown Creeper flies off with them. Why such a wallflower? Does the Brown Creeper enjoy their company? Is it searching for seeds that the Nuthatch cached in the tree?

Although believed to be fairly common, little research has been done on this secretive bird. In Northwest Montana, the Brown Creeper is a year-round resident. The nests are well hidden behind a slab of bark still attached to a tree (why does this not surprise you?). The female lays about five to six small white eggs and the male helps feed his mate. In other parts of the continental U.S., the Brown Creeper visits during the winter but breeding habitat tends to be in Canada.

Technically, the Brown Creeper is a songbird, but it is not known for a lovely voice. It is high-pitched and piercing but not frequently heard. But then again, what do you expect from our little shy friend? May this sweet little bird grace our forests for years to come.

Data sources: Wikipedia, Audubon app “field guide”, and Cornell Lab of Ornithology.