Climacteris melanurus
The Black-tailed Treecreeper (Climacteris melanurus) is a strikingly marked, endemic Australian songbird distinguished by its diagnostic dark sooty-brown plumage and, most notably, a glossy black tail. Measuring approximately 15-18 cm in length and weighing around 25-35 grams, this species exhibits a distinctive, upward-spiraling foraging behavior on tree trunks. Males are identified by an entirely black throat and upper breast, contrasting with the female's finely streaked black and white th...
Found primarily in dry open eucalypt woodlands and forests, particularly along watercourses, and sometimes in riparian forest edges. They are typically found in low to moderate elevations.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on ants, beetles, spiders, and other small arthropods gleaned from tree bark. Foraging occurs mainly by probing and peeling bark while climbing.
Black-tailed Treecreepers are diurnal and often observed singly, in pairs, or small family parties, sometimes including non-breeding helpers. Their characteristic foraging involves spiraling upwards on tree trunks and larger branches, probing bark crevices and peeling bark with their fine, decurv...
The Black-tailed Treecreeper is endemic to northern Australia, occupying a broad, disjunct range. The nominate subspecies, *Climacteris melanurus melanurus*, is found across the Kimberley region of Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and extending into the northern parts of Queensland. The...
Least Concern
- Unlike 'true' treecreepers (family Certhiidae) found in the Northern Hemisphere, the Black-tailed Treecreeper belongs to the endemic Australasian family Climacteridae, a result of convergent evolution. - They are expert climbers, using their stiff tail feathers as a brace against tree trunks as...