Eurasian treecreeper
Certhia familiaris Linnaeus, 1758
The Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris), also called the tree creeper, is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, belonging to the family Certhiidae in the order Passeriformes. It is a tiny bird with an adult body mass of 9 g, a body length of 12 to 13 cm and a wingspan of 19 cm.
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Quick facts about the Eurasian treecreeper
This sedentary, perching bird lives in forest habitat and is an invertivore whose main food is invertebrate. The Eurasian treecreeper is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 9 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 12 cm – 13 cmsrc for Length
- Wingspan
- 19 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 7.43 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 8.17 years
- Main food
- invertebratesrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 15 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.2 – 5.45src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the Eurasian treecreeper?
Photos of the Eurasian treecreeper
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the Eurasian treecreeper live?
Not recorded
What is the Eurasian treecreeper?
The Eurasian treecreeper or common treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) is a small passerine bird also known in the British Isles, where it is the only living member of its genus, simply as treecreeper. It is similar to other treecreepers, and has a curved bill, patterned brown upperparts, whitish underparts, and long stiff tail feathers which help it creep up tree trunks. It can be most easily distinguished from the similar short-toed treecreeper, which shares much of its European range, by its different song.
The Eurasian treecreeper has nine or more subspecies which breed in different parts of its range in the Palearctic. This species is found in woodlands of all kinds, but where it overlaps with the short-toed treecreeper in western Europe it is more likely to be found in coniferous forests or at higher altitudes. It nests in tree crevices or behind bark flakes, and favours introduced giant sequoia as nest sites where they are available. The female typically lays five or six pink-speckled white eggs in the lined nest, but eggs and chicks are vulnerable to attack by woodpeckers and mammals, including squirrels.
The Eurasian treecreeper is insectivorous and climbs up tree trunks like a mouse, to search for insects which it picks from crevices in the bark with its fine curved bill. It then flies to the base of another tree with a distinctive erratic flight. This bird is solitary in winter, but may form communal roosts in cold weather.
From the Wikipedia article “Eurasian treecreeper” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eurasian_treecreeper&oldid=1358318920), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the Eurasian treecreeper sound like?
Is the Eurasian treecreeper endangered?
The Eurasian treecreeper is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the Eurasian treecreeper classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyCerthiidae
- genusCerthia
- SpeciesCerthia familiaris Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Certhia familiaris costa, Certhia familiaris gerbei, Certhia familiaris kwanhsienensis, Certhia familiaris pyrenaica, Certhia familiaris rhenana, Certhia familiaris waschanensis, Dendrobates familiaris
Other names and names in other languages (54)
- Tree creeperEnglish
- esguilón montésAsturian
- Звычайны паўзунокBelarusian
- Горска дърволазкаBulgarian
- Kraperig-koadBreton
- raspinell pirinencCatalan
- šoupálek dlouhoprstýCzech
- Dringwr BachWelsh
- Dringwyr BachWelsh
- TræløberDanish
- WaldbaumläuferGerman
- ΒουνοδεντροβάτηςGreek
- eŭrazia certioEsperanto
- Agateador euroasiáticoSpanish
- porrEstonian
- دارخزکPersian
- puukiipijäFinnish
- TrætølpurFaroese
- Grimpereau des boisFrench
- SnagIrish
- snàgairScottish Gaelic
- snàgaireanScottish Gaelic
- SnàigearScottish Gaelic
- streupachScottish Gaelic
- streupaichScottish Gaelic
- Snaueyder billaghManx
- טפס-עצים אירופיHebrew
- kratkokljuni puzavacCroatian
- hegyi fakuszHungarian
- SkógfetiIcelandic
- Rampichino alpestreItalian
- キバシリJapanese
- 나무발발이Korean
- CramblerCornish
- eurazinis liputisLithuanian
- mizložņaLatvian
- обичен ползачMacedonian
- TaigaboomkruiperDutch
- trekryparNorwegian Nynorsk
- trekryperNorwegian
- pełzacz leśnyPolish
- trepadeira-do-nortePortuguese
- trepadeira-dos-bosquesPortuguese
- Cojoaică de pădureRomanian
- ПищухаRussian
- MuorragakcuNorthern Sami
- kôrovník dlhoprstýSlovak
- dolgoprsti plezalčekSlovenian
- Kratkokljuni puzićSerbian
- trädkrypareSwedish
- Orman TırmaşıkkuşuTurkish
- підкоришник звичайнийUkrainian
- 旋木雀Chinese
- 欧亚旋木雀Chinese
Relatives of the Eurasian treecreeper
Other species in the same genus Certhia.
Short-toed treecreeper
Certhia brachydactyla
Brown creeper
Certhia americana
Bar-tailed treecreeper
Certhia himalayana
Rusty-flanked treecreeper
Certhia nipalensis
Sikkim treecreeper
Certhia discolor
Hume's treecreeper
Certhia manipurensis
CompareEurasian treecreeper vs Short-toed treecreeperEurasian treecreeper vs Brown creeperEurasian treecreeper vs Bar-tailed treecreeperEurasian treecreeper vs Rusty-flanked treecreeper
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the Eurasian treecreeper?
The Eurasian treecreeper is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup. It belongs to the family Certhiidae and the order Passeriformes.
How big is the Eurasian treecreeper?
The Eurasian treecreeper is a tiny bird weighing 9 g, with a body length of 12 to 13 cm and a wingspan of 19 cm.
What does the Eurasian treecreeper eat?
The Eurasian treecreeper is an invertivore, and its main food is invertebrate.
Is the Eurasian treecreeper endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the Eurasian treecreeper live?
The Eurasian treecreeper has a lifespan of 7.4 years, with values up to 8.2 years reported by sources.
How many eggs does the Eurasian treecreeper lay?
The Eurasian treecreeper lays 5.45 eggs per clutch and has 1.5 clutches per year. The eggs are incubated for 15 days.
Who named the Eurasian treecreeper?
The Eurasian treecreeper was named Certhia familiaris by Linnaeus, 1758.
Does the Eurasian treecreeper migrate?
No. The Eurasian treecreeper is sedentary and lives in forest habitat.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-treecreeper
“Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-treecreeper.
@misc{eurasian_treecreeper_2026,
title = {Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-treecreeper},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}