Short-toed Treecreeper

Short-toed Treecreeper

Certhia brachydactyla

Silhouette: א (Aleph) · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Madrid

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

5,712 Verified sightings at Madrid
6,593 In all 19 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Short-toed Treecreeper

The short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla) is a small passerine bird found in woodlands through much of the warmer regions of Europe and into north Africa. It has a generally more southerly distribution than the other European treecreeper species, the common treecreeper, with which it is easily confused where they both occur. The short-toed treecreeper tends to prefer deciduous trees and lower altitudes than its relative in these overlap areas. Although mainly sedentary, vagrants have occurred outside the breeding range.

The short-toed treecreeper is one of a group of four very similar Holarctic treecreepers, including the closely related North American brown creepers, and has five subspecies differing in appearance and song. Like other treecreepers, the short-toed is inconspicuously plumaged brown above and whitish below, and has a curved bill and stiff tail feathers. It is a resident in woodlands throughout its range, and nests in tree crevices or behind bark flakes, laying about six eggs. This common, unwary, but inconspicuous species feeds mainly on insects which are picked from the tree trunk as the treecreeper ascends with short hops.

The short-toed treecreeper... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:47

Spain · 2026

© Esperanza Poveda · XC1158162 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:04

Poland · 2026

© Romuald Mikusek · XC1104923 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Begging call0:34

France · 2025

© Thierry THOMAS · XC1010976 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~50%
2 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
3 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~30%
4 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~30%
5 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
6 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
7 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
8 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
9 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
10 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
11 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
12 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
13 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~10%
14 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
15 Plitvice Lakes National Park 🇭🇷 Croatia
~10%
16 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
<5%
17 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
18 Tatra National Park 🇸🇰 Slovakia
<5%
19 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Turin 🇮🇹 Italy
~50%
2 Paris 🇫🇷 France
~40%
3 Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain
~40%
4 Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany
~40%
5 Cologne 🇩🇪 Germany
~40%
6 Lisbon 🇵🇹 Portugal
~40%
7 Brussels 🇧🇪 Belgium
~40%
8 Lyon 🇫🇷 France
~30%
9 Munich 🇩🇪 Germany
~30%
10 Rome 🇮🇹 Italy
~30%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Short-toed Treecreeper in Madrid?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Short-toed Treecreeper sighting in Madrid on a given day, based on 5,712 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 19th most-seen of the 196 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Short-toed Treecreeper in Madrid?

August to October

In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Short-toed Treecreeper in Madrid on a given day, against about 40% in November to July, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Short-toed Treecreeper?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Short-toed Treecreeper sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Madrid the best place to see a Short-toed Treecreeper?

3rd of 29

Of the 29 cities where we can rate Short-toed Treecreeper sightings, Madrid ranks 3rd at about 40%. The best odds are in Turin (Italy, about 50%) and Paris (France, about 40%).

Which relatives of the Short-toed Treecreeper live in Madrid?

Same order: Passeriformes

The closest relatives of the Short-toed Treecreeper that you can see in Madrid (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Eurasian Magpie (over 90%), Eurasian Blackbird (about 90%) and House Sparrow (about 80%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Short-toed Treecreeper sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Short-toed Treecreeper is recorded against all the birds logged in Madrid (5,712 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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