The Brown Creeper

Al Lowe
Contributor

This is a very special little bird. There are not a great many creepers in the world. In all of North America, there is only one - this one. It lives all across Canada, including North America.
It is certainly not flashy. Its top half is mottled brownish, to look like tree bark, and its underparts are almost all white, or very light grey. You will see it clinging to the bark of a tree, always going up. It starts from the bottom, moves upward in a spiral pattern, and then flies to the bottom of the next tree. It has firm tail feathers to brace itself against the bark, and a curved beak so that it can pry into all the little nooks and crannies.
These little birds are not really very plentiful. They can be found, however, just about anywhere in the north, in the evergreen forests, on the broad-leaved tree trunks, and on the big trees in town.
The Creeper is one of our totally beneficial birds. It lives on insects alone. Its whole time is spent going up tree trunks, rooting out insect eggs, insects which have hidden themselves under the bark, or pupae which are waiting for spring before they open up. Since these birds don’t migrate, or very little, they are here doing their good work winter and summer.
Many birds have rather bizarre courtship rituals. This one sure has. The procedure consists of flying ‘rings’ around tree trunks. The male will zoom around the tree, very close to it, several times. If this display pleases the little lady, she will join him, and you can see both of them zipping around the tree at a great rate. Presumably this usually works. They build a nest, either in a hollow part of a branch, under a loose piece of bark, or in a sharp crotch. About five eggs ensures the continuation of this valuable species.
You are not likely to hear the Brown Creeper unless you are very quiet in the woods. As he goes about his business of gathering insects, he keeps up a faint sort of buzz, a short ‘tree’ sound. In the spring, he has a courting song which is not much better, but it is longer and louder. Some people have described it as being like the sound of a small chain being dropped on the floor. Anyway, it is not very often heard.
So there is our one-of-a kind Brown Creeper (Certhia familiaris). It is found even up to the northern BC and in the north of Newfoundland, and most places in between. It is also common all across the northern part of Asia and Europe. There are lots of creepers in Australia and Africa, but only one here.