Hodgson's Treecreeper
Encyclopedia
Hodgson's Treecreeper, Certhia hodgsoni, is a small passerine
bird
from the southern rim of the Himalayas
. Its specific
distinctness from the Common Treecreeper
(C. familiaris) was recently validated.
. It is browner above than the Common Treecreeper
(C. familiaris), with a contrasting rufous rump. It has a long curved bill and long stiff tail feathers.
The song starts with two of the shree calls characteristic for this species and its close relatives. Then follow one or a few warbling calls, and finally (usually) two up- and downslurring notes. Each sound is about 0.3 seconds long, and the whole song takes about 2 to 2.5 seconds. It drops in pitch at a constant rate from around 7.5 kHz initially to 6 kHz, slurring down to 4 kHz once or twice in the end.
, from west to east:
This treecreeper
was formerly included in the Common Treecreeper
(C. familiaris), but is now believed to constitute a distinct species. It is the southeastern representative of the Holarctic
lineage of treecreepers, most closely related to its sister species C. familiaris and to the North Atlantic superspecies
Short-toed Treecreeper
(C. brachydactylata) and American Treecreeper (C. americana).
Though the Certhiidae are very diverse in the Himalayan region, the other species found there belong to a lineage distinct from Hodgson's Treecreeper. While the present species is an allopatric offshoot of the Holarctic group, the other Himalayan treecreepers are parapatric members of a group that probably radiated
out from the subtropical southern China
region.
The English
and scientific names of this species
commemorate Brian Houghton Hodgson
, a 19th century English
naturalist
and ethnologist working in British India.
, China
, India
, Myanmar
, Nepal
and Pakistan
. It inhabits temperate
to cool tropical montane forests. Mostly resident in coniferous woodlands, it may move downhill to oak
/rhododendron
woodlands in winter. However, in Bhutan for example C. h. mandellii is not uncommon all year round in moist Bhutan Fir (Abies densa) forests between approximately 3,000 and 4,000 meters ASL
. The stiff tail feathers enable the bird to creep up vertical
tree trunks looking for arthropod
prey. It nests in tree crevices, and 4-6 reddish-brown blotched pinkish-white eggs are the typical clutch size.
Although the stretched-out range of this rather sedentary species is prone to habitat fragmentation
in the long run, C. hodgsoni is just as common as its northern relatives. The IUCN therefore considers it a Species of Least Concern
.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
from the southern rim of the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. Its specific
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
distinctness from the Common Treecreeper
Common Treecreeper
The Eurasian Treecreeper or Common Treecreeper is a small passerine bird also known in the British Isles, where it is the only living member of its genus, simply as Treecreeper. It is similar to other treecreepers, and has a curved bill, patterned brown upperparts, whitish underparts, and long...
(C. familiaris) was recently validated.
Description
This is a small bird, 12.5 cm (5 in) long, of fairly drab appearance. It is brownish with lighter and darker streaks above, and off-white below and on the superciliumSupercilium
The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head. Also known as an "eyebrow", it is distinct from the eyestripe, which is a line which runs...
. It is browner above than the Common Treecreeper
Common Treecreeper
The Eurasian Treecreeper or Common Treecreeper is a small passerine bird also known in the British Isles, where it is the only living member of its genus, simply as Treecreeper. It is similar to other treecreepers, and has a curved bill, patterned brown upperparts, whitish underparts, and long...
(C. familiaris), with a contrasting rufous rump. It has a long curved bill and long stiff tail feathers.
The song starts with two of the shree calls characteristic for this species and its close relatives. Then follow one or a few warbling calls, and finally (usually) two up- and downslurring notes. Each sound is about 0.3 seconds long, and the whole song takes about 2 to 2.5 seconds. It drops in pitch at a constant rate from around 7.5 kHz initially to 6 kHz, slurring down to 4 kHz once or twice in the end.
Systematics and taxonomy
It has three subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
, from west to east:
- Certhia hodgsoni hodgsoni Brooks, 1871 – N PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
to NW IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - Certhia hodgsoni mandellii Brooks, 1874 – NepalNepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, BhutanBhutanBhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, NE India - Certhia hodgsoni khamensis Bianchi, 1903, Kham Treecreeper – SW ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, MyanmarMyanmarBurma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
and perhaps NE India
This treecreeper
Treecreeper
The treecreepers are a family, Certhiidae, of small passerine birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere and sub-Saharan Africa. The family contains ten species in two genera, Certhia and Salpornis...
was formerly included in the Common Treecreeper
Common Treecreeper
The Eurasian Treecreeper or Common Treecreeper is a small passerine bird also known in the British Isles, where it is the only living member of its genus, simply as Treecreeper. It is similar to other treecreepers, and has a curved bill, patterned brown upperparts, whitish underparts, and long...
(C. familiaris), but is now believed to constitute a distinct species. It is the southeastern representative of the Holarctic
Holarctic
The Holarctic ecozone refers to the habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world as a whole. This region is divided into the Palearctic, consisting of Northern Africa and all of Eurasia, with the exception of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and the Nearctic,...
lineage of treecreepers, most closely related to its sister species C. familiaris and to the North Atlantic superspecies
Superspecies
A superspecies is a group of at least two more or less distinctive species with approximately parapatric distributions. Not all species complexes, whether cryptices or ring species are superspecies, and vice versa, but many are...
Short-toed Treecreeper
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...
(C. brachydactylata) and American Treecreeper (C. americana).
Though the Certhiidae are very diverse in the Himalayan region, the other species found there belong to a lineage distinct from Hodgson's Treecreeper. While the present species is an allopatric offshoot of the Holarctic group, the other Himalayan treecreepers are parapatric members of a group that probably radiated
Evolutionary radiation
An evolutionary radiation is an increase in taxonomic diversity or morphological disparity, due to adaptive change or the opening of ecospace. Radiations may affect one clade or many, and be rapid or gradual; where they are rapid, and driven by a single lineage's adaptation to their environment,...
out from the subtropical southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
region.
The English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and scientific names of this species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
commemorate Brian Houghton Hodgson
Brian Houghton Hodgson
Brian Houghton Hodgson was an early naturalist and ethnologist working in British India and Nepal where he was an English civil servant. He described many species, especially birds and mammals from the Himalayas, and several birds were named after him by others such as Edward Blyth...
, a 19th century English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
and ethnologist working in British India.
Range and ecology
Hodgson's Treecreeper is found in the countries of BhutanBhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. It inhabits temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
to cool tropical montane forests. Mostly resident in coniferous woodlands, it may move downhill to oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
/rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
woodlands in winter. However, in Bhutan for example C. h. mandellii is not uncommon all year round in moist Bhutan Fir (Abies densa) forests between approximately 3,000 and 4,000 meters ASL
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
. The stiff tail feathers enable the bird to creep up vertical
Vertical direction
In astronomy, geography, geometry and related sciences and contexts, a direction passing by a given point is said to be vertical if it is locally aligned with the gradient of the gravity field, i.e., with the direction of the gravitational force at that point...
tree trunks looking for arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
prey. It nests in tree crevices, and 4-6 reddish-brown blotched pinkish-white eggs are the typical clutch size.
Although the stretched-out range of this rather sedentary species is prone to habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...
in the long run, C. hodgsoni is just as common as its northern relatives. The IUCN therefore considers it a Species of Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
.