Birds · Passeriformes · Certhiidae

Eurasian Treecreeper

Certhia familiaris

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

A tiny bird with a back intricately mottled in black, white and cream, with a reddish rump and whitish underparts. It has a long, downcurved bill and stiff tail feathers, which it uses as a prop to climb trunks in a spiral.

Weight

7 g – 13 g

Size

12 cm – 12.5 cm

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Estimated population

The European breeding population is estimated at between 10,900,000 and 19,200,000 mature individuals according to the 2021 European Red List of Birds. There are no figures for the Spanish contingent

Insectivore Diurnal Solitary Bird

45countries

Fun facts

It always climbs upwards in a spiral, and when it reaches the top it flutters down to the base of the next tree to start again.
It is solitary, but on very cold nights it forms communal roosts, huddling together in cracks in the bark.
In Asturias they call it "esguilón de faya", literally beech squirrel.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Mature, humid deciduous and coniferous woodland. On the Iberian Peninsula its distribution is limited to the Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees and the Sistema Ibérico
Sexual maturity: 12 months

Sources consulted: SEO/BirdLife (ficha y III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España); IUCN Red List; Asturnatura; Lista Roja Europea de Aves 2021; MITECO - Inventario Español de Especies Terrestres; Harrap y Quinn 1996, Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers