Brown Creeper
Brown Creeper has surged: up 553% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Brown Creeper
The Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) is a North American member of the Treecreepers (Certhiidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the forest birds.
- Size
- 4.5–5.5 in long (12–14 cm) — a tiny tree-climbing bird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Woodlands and forest edges, including wooded suburbs and parks.
- Diet
- Insects and spiders gleaned from foliage and bark, with seeds and berries in season.
- Range
- Recorded on 1,023 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 37 states, most concentrated in the Northern Pacific Rainforest.
- Family
- Certhiidae · Forest birds
Notable Brown Creeper Trends
No notable trend signals for Brown Creeper. See the full index history below.
Brown Creeper Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Brown Creeper is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.27 (95% range 0.21–0.33). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±19.7%, with 60% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.26 | 0.20 | 0.32 |
| 2026 | 0.27 | 0.21 | 0.33 |
| 2027 | 0.27 | 0.21 | 0.33 |
| 2028 | 0.27 | 0.21 | 0.33 |
| 2029 | 0.27 | 0.21 | 0.33 |
Where the Brown Creeper Is Detected
BBS routes recording Brown Creeper, sized by most recent count.
Brown Creeper Population Trend by State
| Alaska | -61% | 1982 | 45 |
| Arizona | +130% | 1976 | 20 |
| California | +308% | 1970 | 129 |
| Colorado | -29% | 1975 | 39 |
| Connecticut | +21% | 1971 | 19 |
| Idaho | -46% | 1974 | 29 |
| Illinois | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Indiana | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Iowa | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Maine | +120% | 1968 | 63 |
| Maryland | +78% | 1978 | 9 |
| Massachusetts | +462% | 1968 | 31 |
| Michigan | +408% | 1975 | 63 |
| Minnesota | +704% | 1978 | 25 |
| Montana | +36% | 1979 | 23 |
| Nebraska | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Nevada | insufficient data | n/a | 4 |
| New Hampshire | +757% | 1968 | 25 |
| New Jersey | -0% | 1982 | 7 |
| New Mexico | -45% | 1981 | 16 |
| New York | +200% | 1968 | 88 |
| North Carolina | +13% | 1993 | 8 |
| North Dakota | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Ohio | +57% | 2001 | 6 |
| Oregon | +30% | 1970 | 95 |
| Pennsylvania | +682% | 1970 | 68 |
| Rhode Island | insufficient data | n/a | 5 |
| South Dakota | +54% | 1998 | 10 |
| Tennessee | +217% | 1991 | 3 |
| Texas | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Utah | -50% | 1990 | 18 |
| Vermont | +590% | 1969 | 22 |
| Virginia | +3% | 1994 | 10 |
| Washington | +402% | 1971 | 68 |
| West Virginia | +754% | 1980 | 16 |
| Wisconsin | +180% | 1969 | 39 |
| Wyoming | -34% | 1991 | 14 |
Brown Creeper Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| BCR 2 | -68% | 1990 | 4 |
| BCR 4 | -67% | 1985 | 16 |
| Northern Pacific Rainforest | +286% | 1970 | 148 |
| Great Basin | +16% | 1970 | 64 |
| Northern Rockies | +13% | 1970 | 93 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | +418% | 1969 | 98 |
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | +348% | 1968 | 45 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | +381% | 1968 | 137 |
| Sierra Nevada | +137% | 1970 | 39 |
| Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau | +197% | 1974 | 74 |
| Badlands and Prairies | +46% | 1998 | 10 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | +162% | 1978 | 29 |
| Appalachian Mountains | 15× | 1968 | 138 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | +371% | 1968 | 57 |
| Coastal California | +21% | 1971 | 39 |
| Sierra Madre Occidental | +6% | 1976 | 19 |
Brown Creeper Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 553% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.