Brown creepers are monogamous. Males sing to attract a mate. The pair then chases one another, rapidly fluttering their wings and exposing their white undersides. Courtship feeding (where the male feeds the female) occurs throughout the nesting cycle until the eggs have hatched. Breeding pairs remain together up to several weeks after their chicks are ready to fly.
Mating System: monogamous
Brown creepers generally begin breeding in April, with breeding season peaking in May, June and July. Incubation in Michigan has been recorded as early as May 20.
The male and female chose the nest site together, but the female builds the nest. Nests are almost always built between the trunk and a loose piece of bark on a dead or dying tree. However, nests are occasionally found in locations such as inside a stack of concrete blocks and under loosened roof shingles. Nests take 6 to 30 days to build and are lined with feathers and bark.
The female lays 3 to 7 eggs and begins incubation after the last egg is laid. Incubation lasts 13 to 17 days. The female does all of the incubation and the male brings food to her.
The altricial chicks all hatch on the same day. The female broods them during bad weather, and both parents feed them. They fledge after 15 to 17 days, but continue to be fed by the parents for at least two weeks.
Data on the exact age of first breeding and intervals between breeding are scarce, although it is believed that breeding occurs in the first year.
Breeding interval: Brown creepers breed once per year and raise one brood per breeding season.
Breeding season: Breeding occurs from April through July
Range eggs per season: 3 to 7.
Range time to hatching: 13 to 17 days.
Range fledging age: 15 to 17 days.
Range time to independence: 14 (low) days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 years.
Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); fertilization
Both parents search for a nest site, but the female builds the nest. The female does all of the incubation and brooding, during which the male feeds her. Both parents feed the chicks during the nestling and fledgling stages, before they become independent. Both adults also carry eggshells and fecal sacs away from the nest.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)