African Spotted Creeper
NameAfrican Spotted Creeper
Common NameAfrican Spotted Creeper
Scientific NameSalpornis salvadori
FamilySalpornithidae
Wingspan (cm)19
Length (cm)14
Weight (g)13
Plumage DetailsUpperparts are dark brown heavily spotted with white, creating a mottled appearance. Underparts are whitish with dark spotting and streaking, particularly on the flanks. It has a dark eye with a pale supercilium and a long, slender, decurved black bill.
Vocalization / CallVocalizations include high-pitched, thin, sibilant calls, often described as a series of 'tsee-tsee-tsee' or 'sree-sree-sree' notes.
Primary Dietinsectivore
Primary Habitatsforest
Conservation Statusleast-concern
Geographic RangeFound in a patchy distribution across sub-Saharan Africa, from West Africa (e.g., Sierra Leone, Liberia) through Central Africa (e.g., Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola) to East Africa (e.g., Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi).
Identifying Featuresmottled brown and white plumage, long decurved bill, bark-creeping behavior, small size
Description
A small, bark-creeping bird with a distinctive mottled brown and white plumage. It uses its long, decurved bill to probe for insects in tree bark, typically moving upwards on trunks and branches.
