Treecreepers

The Treecreeper family consists of small birds with feathers that blend well with their surroundings, making them hard to spot. They are very well suited to living on tree trunks. All of these birds move in a jerky, spiralling way as they search for food, using their thin, curved bills to pick insects out of the cracks in the bark. Their stiff tail feathers help them balance against the tree trunks. Their feathers are usually streaked brown on top with lighter colours underneath, which helps them blend in with the bark. They live in temperate forests across the Northern Hemisphere, with the most variety found in the Himalayas. These birds make their homes in different types of woodland, from lowland forests with broad-leaved trees to mountain forests with pine trees. They mostly stay in one place throughout the year, keeping to their own territories where they feed on small creatures found in the bark. Their high-pitched calls are often the first sign that they are nearby in the treetops.