Treecreepers: Certhiidae

Treecreepers are small, mostly brown birds that have long, slightly curved bills, long, slender tails with twelve stiff, pointed feathers, a narrow, teardrop-shaped body, and short legs with long toes and highly curved claws. They possess coloration that allows them to blend into their forest habitat in order to protect themselves from predators, animals that hunt them for food. Plumage (feathers) varies among species. However, upperparts are generally shades of brown with streaks of black, under parts are white or buff with shades of mostly rufous (reddish) or cinnamon, but sometimes of gray, and a stripe above the eye is buff or white. Males and females are similar in both size and color. In the first year, young birds have duller and streakier looking upperparts than adults, but look more like adults after the first year. Adults are 5 to 6 inches (12 to 15 centimeters) long.