Black-tailed treecreeper

The black-tailed treecreeper (Climacteris melanurus) is a species of bird in the family Climacteridae. It is endemic to north and northwestern Australia.

Black-tailed treecreeper
A black-tailed treecreeper near Marrakai, Northern Territory, Australia.
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Climacteridae
Genus:	Climacteris
Species:	C. melanurus
Binomial name
Climacteris melanurus Gould, 1843

Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.^[1]

Description and Habitat

The Black-tailed treecreeper is small to medium in size, generally measuring between 16–20 cm in length, with a wingspan of 8.7–10.2 cm and a weight of 27–36 grams.^[2][3] Both sexes are dark brown and black-tailed with large feet. The male has a black throat with white streaking, while the female has a white throat.^[4][5] Similar in appearance to the Brown treecreeper.^[2]

Habitat includes open grassy woodlands, savanna, dry forest, and moist lowland forest.^[6] It is the only treecreeper species found in Northern Australia, and normally travels in pairs or small groups.^[2][6]

Calls

The Black-tailed treecreeper is most often heard giving a contact call, a loud, metallic chee-ting or ching, often singly or in repeated 1-2 second intervals. When feeding or in flight, a quick burst of softer notes may be heard.^[2] Other calls include a slow, repeated pip pip pip.^[6]

Evolution

The Black-tailed treecreeper is thought to be the closest living relative (a sister taxon) of the Brown treecreeper. The two birds were likely a single species, separated over time by the Carpentarian Barrier — a large, historically sparse and dry area in north-eastern Australia, which prevented the two groups from interacting. They diverged genetically and remain allopatric, but share many similarities, including appearance, habitat and similar mannerisms.^[7]

Taxonomy

Climacteris melanurus was first described as C. melanura by the ornithologist John Gould in an 1843 publishing of the journal Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, of which Gould was a member.^[8]

Subspecies

There are two recognised subspecies:

• C. m. melanurus – The nominate subspecies, found across Northern Australia from the Kimberley region in Western Australia to the Leichhardt River in Queensland.^[5]

• C. m. wellsi Ogilvie-Grant, 1909 – Only found in the Pilbara region of North-West Western Australia, between the De Grey and Fortescue Rivers. It was originally described by William Robert Ogilvie-Grant as a separate species, Climacteris wellsi, in 1909, but was later reclassified as a subspecies.^[9][5]

The subspecies differ slightly in appearance; C. m. wellsi is slightly smaller and has more extensive streaking, with under parts more chestnut, and a rufous-brown neck and breast. Their ranges don't overlap.^[10]

A Black-tailed treecreeper chick on a tree

Breeding

They participate in cooperative breeding, in which multiple individuals assist in raising young—not just the biological parents.^[7] A clutch of 1–3 pink, reddish-brown spotted or purplish-red spotted eggs are laid in nests of fur, grass, and feathers, normally in tree trunks and branches. Incubation takes between 14–24 days.^[10] They likely reach sexual maturity around 2 years old.

Feeding and behavior

The Black-tailed treecreeper primarily feeds on invertebrates found beneath the bark of tree trunks and branches, and occasionally in foliage.^[5] They generally land near the base of a tree and climb rapidly upwards, often spiraling around the trunk as they search for food.

Conservation

The Black-tailed treecreeper is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.