CreatureData

Short-toed treecreeper

Certhia brachydactyla C. L. Brehm, 1820

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla) is a species in the family Certhiidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 8.2 g to 8.8 g and live up to 5.73 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla)
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the short-toed treecreeper

Weight
8.2 g – 8.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
5.73 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
5.75 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
15 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
5.9src 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
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the short-toed treecreeper live?

Not recorded

What is the short-toed treecreeper?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla) is a small passerine bird found in woodlands through much of the warmer regions of Europe and into north Africa. It has a generally more southerly distribution than the other European treecreeper species, the common treecreeper, with which it is easily confused where they both occur. The short-toed treecreeper tends to prefer deciduous trees and lower altitudes than its relative in these overlap areas. Although mainly sedentary, vagrants have occurred outside the breeding range.

The short-toed treecreeper is one of a group of four very similar Holarctic treecreepers, including the closely related North American brown creepers, and has five subspecies differing in appearance and song. Like other treecreepers, the short-toed is inconspicuously plumaged brown above and whitish below, and has a curved bill and stiff tail feathers. It is a resident in woodlands throughout its range, and nests in tree crevices or behind bark flakes, laying about six eggs. This common, unwary, but inconspicuous species feeds mainly on insects which are picked from the tree trunk as the treecreeper ascends with short hops.

From the Wikipedia article “Short-toed treecreeper” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Short-toed_treecreeper&oldid=1358388248), 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.

Is the short-toed treecreeper endangered?

The short-toed treecreeper is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the short-toed treecreeper classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyCerthiidae
  6. genusCerthia
  7. SpeciesCerthia brachydactyla C. L. Brehm, 1820

Synonyms Certhia brachydactyla bureaui, Certhia brachydactyla lusitanica, Certhia brachydactyla nigricans, Certhia brachydactyla obscura, Certhia brachydactyla parisi, Certhia brachydactyla raisulii, Certhia brachydactyla siciliae, Certhia brachydactyla spatzi, Certhia brachydactyla ultramontana, Certhia paradoxa

Other names and names in other languages (64)
  • Short-toed tree-creeperEnglish
  • STTREnglish
  • CorretroncosAragonese
  • esguilónAsturian
  • Караткапальцы паўзунокBelarusian
  • Градинска дърволазкаBulgarian
  • KraboterigBreton
  • Kraperig-liorzhBreton
  • RaspinellCatalan
  • raspinell comúCatalan
  • Кӹтӹк парнян вуйжырнерMari
  • šoupálek krátkoprstýCzech
  • dringwr troedfyrWelsh
  • ParktræløberDanish
  • Korttået træløberDanish
  • Korttået Træløber / ParktræløberDanish
  • GartenbaumläuferGerman
  • ΚαμποδεντροβάτηςGreek
  • kurtfingra certioEsperanto
  • Mallongfingra certioEsperanto
  • Agateador comúnSpanish
  • Agateador europeoSpanish
  • Trepatroncos europeoSpanish
  • aedporrEstonian
  • etelänpuukiipijäFinnish
  • Grimpereau des jardinsFrench
  • Grimpereau brachydactyleFrench
  • Snag ladharghearrIrish
  • Snaueyder mair-ghiareScottish Gaelic
  • Gabeador comúnGalician
  • טפס-עצים קצר-אצבעותHebrew
  • dugokljuni puzavacCroatian
  • rövidkarmú fakuszHungarian
  • GarðfetiIcelandic
  • Rampichino comuneItalian
  • RampichinoItalian
  • タンシキバシリJapanese
  • GaardebamleeferLuxembourgish
  • sodinis liputisLithuanian
  • Rietumu mizložņaLatvian
  • Īspikstu mizložņaLatvian
  • īspirkstu mizložņaLatvian
  • краткопрст ползачMacedonian
  • BoomkruiperDutch
  • Gewone boomkruiperDutch
  • kortklotrekryperNorwegian
  • pełzacz ogrodowyPolish
  • trepadeira-comumPortuguese
  • TrepadeiraPortuguese
  • Trepadeira do SulPortuguese
  • trepadeira-do-sulPortuguese
  • Cojoaica cu degete scurteRomanian
  • Cojoaică cu degete scurteRomanian
  • Садовая пищухаRussian
  • Короткопалая пищухаRussian
  • GárdemuorragakcuNorthern Sami
  • kôrovník krátkoprstýSlovak
  • kratkoprsti plezalčekSlovenian
  • Dugokljuni puzićSerbian
  • Дугокљуни пузићSerbian
  • trädgårdsträdkrypareSwedish
  • Bahçe TırmaşıkkuşuTurkish
  • підкоришник короткопалийUkrainian
  • 短趾旋木雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the short-toed treecreeper

Other species in the same genus Certhia.

CompareShort-toed treecreeper vs Eurasian treecreeperShort-toed treecreeper vs Brown creeperShort-toed treecreeper vs Bar-tailed treecreeperShort-toed treecreeper vs Rusty-flanked treecreeper

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the short-toed treecreeper?

An adult short-toed treecreeper weighs 8.2 g – 8.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the short-toed treecreeper endangered?

The short-toed treecreeper is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the short-toed treecreeper live?

The short-toed treecreeper has a recorded lifespan of 5.73 years.

What kind of animal is the short-toed treecreeper?

The short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla) belongs to the family Certhiidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-toed-treecreeper

MLA

“Short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-toed-treecreeper.

BibTeX
@misc{short_toed_treecreeper_2026,
  title = {Short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-toed-treecreeper},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}