Hodgson’s Treecreeper

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. == Description == This is a small bird, 12.5 cm (4.9 in) long, of fairly drab appearance. It is brownish with lighter and darker streaks above, and off-white below and on the supercilium. 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. == Systematics and taxonomy == It has three subspecies, from west to east: Certhia hodgsoni hodgsoni Brooks, 1871 – N Pakistan to NW India Certhia hodgsoni mandellii Brooks, 1874 – Nepal, Bhutan, NE India Certhia hodgsoni…