long decurved bill, stiff tail, streaked in brown l(California, USA; 2007-08-04)


Brown Creeper
Certhia americana

Native Range: North America and Middle America

Notes: a tiny brown-straked bird that looks like little more than a flake of tree bark; the bird spirals around tree trunks and major limbs, using its long decurved bill to probe beneath the bark in search of grubs and other insects; typical behavior is to spiral up a tree beginning at its base, then fly to the base of the next tree and repeat the behavior; this species is beautifully camoflaged for this task.


whitish underparts; no sexual dimorphism (California, USA; 2011-09-04)
fluffy-looking, increasing camoflage effect (California, USA; 2007-08-04)

nondescript and unobtrusive (California, USA; 2007-08-04)
heading up a tree trunk (California, USA; 2007-08-04)

can you even find the bird in this picture? (California, USA; 2007-08-04)