The white-browed treecreeper ( Climacteris affinis ) is one of 7 species of Australo-Papuan endemic treecreepers (Family: Climacteridae).
At a glance
Sounds
Range map
Range map
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Small bird with rather massive feet and pale eyebrow, most often seen running up and down the sides of trees in arid and semi-arid woodlands, especially old-growth mulga forest (unlikely to be found in eucalypts along rivers). Predominantly grayish brown with bold pale streaking on dark belly. In flight, note bold tan wingbars. Compare larger, darker Brown Treecreeper, which has less obvious streaking behind the ear and on belly and tends to spend more time on the ground.
Behavior
The species foraging strategy involves climbing the trunks of trees in search of invertebrate prey on and under bark. Together these two families are thought to represent one of the most ancient lineages of ' songbirds ' (oscines, suborder Passeri), diverging early during the rise and radiation of oscines in Australia . These ancient fossils all exhibit morphological features associated with scansorial (tree-trunk climbing), the primary mode of locomotion used during foraging by all extant species.
Gallery