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]

Taxonomy

Climacteris melanurus was first described by the ornithologist John Gould in an 1843 publishing of the journal Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.^[2]

Subspecies

There are two recognised subspecies of Climacteris melanurus:

• C. m. melanurus – The nominate subspecies, found across Northern Australia from the Kimberley region in Western Australia to the Leichhardt River in Queensland.^[3]

• C. m. wellsi Ogilvie-Grant, 1909 – Only found in the Pilbara region of North-West Western Australia, between the De Grey and Fortescue Rivers.^[4][3]

The subspecies don't overlap.

Description

Climacteris melanurus generally measures between 16–20cm in length.^[5] Both sexes are dark brown and black-tailed. The male has a black throat with white streaking, while the female has a white throat.^[6][3]

Breeding

They participate in cooperative breeding, in which multiple individuals assist in raising young—not just the biological parents.^[7] They likely reach sexual maturity around 2 years old.^[7]