Eurasian Treecreeper

SCI Name:  Certhia familiaris
Protonym:  Certhia familiaris Syst.Nat.ed.10 p.118
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Certhiidae / Certhia
Taxonomy Code:  eurtre1
Type Locality:  'm Europae arboribus reptans'' ; restricted to Sweden by Hartert, 1905, Vogel pal. Fauna, p. 317.
Author:  Linnaeus
Publish Year:  1758
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

CERTHIA
(Certhiidae; Ϯ Eurasian Treecreeper C. familiaris) Gr. κερθιος kerthios small, tree-dwelling. insect-eating bird mentioned by Aristotle, perhaps the treecreeper Certhia but never properly identified. "59. CERTHIA.  Rostrum arcuatum, tenue, subtrigonum.  Lingua acuta." (Linnaeus 1758); "Genus CERTHIA.  Type by Linnean tautonymy and by subsequent designation of Gray (List Gen. Bds. 1st ed. 1840, p. 18): C. familiaris." (BOU 1915); "Certhia Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, p. 118. Type, by tautonymy², Certhia familiaris Linnaeus.  ...  ² Int. Comm. Zool. Nomen., 1955, 1, Sec. C (C-8), pp. 89-112. Direction 17." (Greenway in Peters, 1967, XII, p. 150). Linnaeus's Certhia comprised five species (C. familiaris, C. pusilla, C. cærulea, C. cruentata, C. flaveola).  In nomenclature and generic combination the name is applied to a variety of thin- or curve-billed species, or those with creeper-like toes and claws.
Var. Cerithia, Cerethia, Cirthia, Certhius, Certhra, Corthia, Crethia.
Synon. Dendrobates.

certhia
Gr. κερθιος kerthios  small tree-dwelling insect-eating bird.
● "Pic grimpereau, BUFF. XIII. p. 122.  BRISS. Ornith. o. Picus certhia mihi  LINN. Gen. 59. o.  Climbing Grakle, LATH. birds. I. p. 467, II" (Boddaert 1783); ex “Picucule de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 621, and “Pic-grimpereau” of de Buffon 1770-1785: "nous avons cru devoir les nommer pic-grimpereaux, parce qu'ils sont la nuance entre le genre des pics & celui des grimpereaux; la première & la plus grande espèce, etant plus voisine des grimpereaux par son bec courbé, & la seconde étant au contraire plus voisine des pics par son bec droit. Toutes deux ont trois doigts en avant & un en arrière comme les grimpereaux, & en même temps les pennes de la queue roides & pointues comme les pics" (Dendrocolaptes).

familiare / familiaris
L. familiaris  familiar, friendly  < familia  family, household.
● Von Kittlitz 1831, remarked that the Bonin White-eye was the first bird that greeted visitors to those islands, where it was the equivalent of the House Sparrow (“Dieser schöne kleine Vogel ist der, welcher dem Besucher von Boninsima zumeist und gewöhnlich auch zuerst ins Auge fällt, in vieler Hinsicht der Repräsentant unsrer Sperlinge daselbst”) (Apalopteron).
● Linnaeus 1757, documented the Finnish custom of using tame Eurasian Treecreepers, and other birds, to destroy insects in houses (Tommy Tyrberg in litt.); "59. CERTHIA.  ...  familiaris.  1. C. supra grisea, subtus alba, remigibus fuscis: decem macula alba.  Certhia. Fn. svec. 213. Gesn. av. 251. Aldr. ornith. l. 12. c. 44. Bell. av. 98. a. Will. orn. 100. t. 23. Raj. av. 47. n. 5. Alb. av. 3. p. 24. t. 25. Frisch. av. 39. f. 1.  Habitat in Europæ arboribus reptans; ova 20. parit.  Remiges 4 - 14. macula transversa alba notatæ." (Linnaeus 1758) (Certhia).
● ex "Traquet Famillier" of Levaillant 1806, pl. 183, and "Familiar Warbler" of Latham 1822 (Oenanthe).

SUBSPECIES

Eurasian Treecreeper (britannica)
SCI Name: Certhia familiaris britannica
britanica / britanniae / britannica / britannicus / brittanica
L. Britannicus Britannic, British < Britannia Britain.

Eurasian Treecreeper (macrodactyla)
SCI Name: Certhia familiaris macrodactyla
macrodactyla / macrodactylum / macrodactylus
Gr. μακροδακτυλος makrodaktulos  long-toed  < μακρος makros  long; δακτυλος daktulos  toe.

Eurasian Treecreeper (corsa)
SCI Name: Certhia familiaris corsa
corsa
L. Corsus  Corsican  < Corsica or Corsis, Corsidis  Corsica.

Eurasian Treecreeper (familiaris)
SCI Name: Certhia familiaris familiaris
familiare / familiaris
L. familiaris  familiar, friendly  < familia  family, household.
● Von Kittlitz 1831, remarked that the Bonin White-eye was the first bird that greeted visitors to those islands, where it was the equivalent of the House Sparrow (“Dieser schöne kleine Vogel ist der, welcher dem Besucher von Boninsima zumeist und gewöhnlich auch zuerst ins Auge fällt, in vieler Hinsicht der Repräsentant unsrer Sperlinge daselbst”) (Apalopteron).
● Linnaeus 1757, documented the Finnish custom of using tame Eurasian Treecreepers, and other birds, to destroy insects in houses (Tommy Tyrberg in litt.); "59. CERTHIA.  ...  familiaris.  1. C. supra grisea, subtus alba, remigibus fuscis: decem macula alba.  Certhia. Fn. svec. 213. Gesn. av. 251. Aldr. ornith. l. 12. c. 44. Bell. av. 98. a. Will. orn. 100. t. 23. Raj. av. 47. n. 5. Alb. av. 3. p. 24. t. 25. Frisch. av. 39. f. 1.  Habitat in Europæ arboribus reptans; ova 20. parit.  Remiges 4 - 14. macula transversa alba notatæ." (Linnaeus 1758) (Certhia).
● ex "Traquet Famillier" of Levaillant 1806, pl. 183, and "Familiar Warbler" of Latham 1822 (Oenanthe).

Eurasian Treecreeper (daurica)
SCI Name: Certhia familiaris daurica
daurica / dauricus
Dauria, south-eastern Siberia (after the Dauuri or Dağuuri, a nomadic Mongolian tribe that inhabited the area).

Eurasian Treecreeper (orientalis)
SCI Name: Certhia familiaris orientalis
orientale / orientalis
L. orientalis  eastern, oriental  < oriens, orientis  east.
● Asia; ex “Anser moschoviticus” of Albin 1731-1738, and “Anser chinensis” of Linnaeus 1747 (syn. Anser cygnoides).
● India; ex Ardea antigone Linnaeus, 1758, “Grus orientalis” of Brisson 1760, and “Indian Crane” of Latham 1785 (syn. Antigone antigone).
● East Indies (= Seram and New Guinea); ex “Casoar des Indes orientales” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 313 (syn. Casuarius casuarius).
● India; ex “Eastern Parrot” of Latham 1781 (?syn. Eclectus roratus).
● East Indies (= Amboina); ex “Coucou noir des Indes” (= ♂) and “Coucou tacheté des Indes” (=♀) of Brisson 1760 (subsp. Eudynamys scolopaceus).
● East Indies (=Java); ex “Rollier des Indes” of Brisson 1760 (Eurystomus).
● East Indies; ex “Merula indica” of Brisson 1760, “Merle des Indes Orientales” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 273, fig. 2, and “Ash-rumped Thrush” of Latham 1783 (syn. Lalage nigra).
● India; ex “Indian Bee-eater” and “Coromandel Bee-eater” of Latham 1782-1787 (Merops).
● Asia; ex “Onocrotalus” or “Pelecanus” of previous authors (syn. Pelecanus onocrotalus).
● "91. TETRAO.  ...  orientalis.  12. T. pedibus antice pilosis: abdomine gulaque atra, collari ferrugineo, cauda cuneiformi.  Tetrao orientalis. Hasselq. it. 278. n. 43.  Perdix damascena. Will. orn. 128.  Francolin. Tournef. it. I. p. 158. t. 158.  Habitat in Oriente." (Linnaeus 1758) (Pterocles).
● China; ex “Tourterelle brune de la Chine” of Sonnerat 1782, and “Chinese Turtle” of Latham 1783 (Streptopelia).
● China; ex “China Owl” of Latham 1801 (syn. Strix seloputo).

Eurasian Treecreeper (japonica)
SCI Name: Certhia familiaris japonica
japanensis / japanicus / japensis / japonensis / japonica / japonicum / japonicus
Japan (Mod. English names (early examples including Giapan) were derived from a Portuguese corruption of Malay Jepang and Chinese Zeppen, themselves local renderings of Nippon). The French equivalent is Japon.
● ex “Japonese Eagle” of Latham 1781 (subsp. Falco peregrinus).
● ex “Grue du Japon” of Brisson 1760 (Grus).
● Erroneous TL Japan (= New Guinea); ex “Psittacus erythrochlorus macrourus” of Aldrovandus 12599, and “Psittaca japonica” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Charmosyna papou).

Eurasian Treecreeper (persica)
SCI Name: Certhia familiaris persica
persica
L. Persicus  Persian  < Persia  Persia / Iran.

Eurasian Treecreeper (tianschanica)
SCI Name: Certhia familiaris tianschanica
tianschanica / tianschanicus / tianshanica / tianshanicus
Tiān Shān or Tien Shān, a mountain range of Central Asia.

Eurasian Treecreeper (bianchii)
SCI Name: Certhia familiaris bianchii
bianchii
Valentin Lvovich Bianchi (1857-1920) Russian ornithologist, Curator of Imperial Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg (subsp. Certhia familiaris, syn. Cinclus cinclus leucogaster, subsp. Lanius borealis, subsp. Phasianus colchicus, syn. Phylloscopus affinis, syn. Phylloscopus subaffinis, syn. Poecile montanus borealis, syn. Turdus fumigatus).