feet are black. The female has a pale orange-brown patch on the cheek. Immature birds have an orange-brown rump and white markings on the scapulars. The call is a shrill peeping. Distribution and habitat The white-throated treecreeper is found from the Gulf St Vincent in South Australia, through Victoria, and eastern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland, with an area further north from Mount Spec to Cooktown. Wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest is the preferred habitat. It is Protected in Australia under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974. Feeding The white-throated treecreeper is predominantly insectivorous, eating mainly ants, although will eat also nectar. A 2007 study in the Australian Capital Territory showed the white-throated treecreeper preferred foraging on the rough-barked eucalypt, the red stringybark (Eucalyptus macrorhyncha), rather than the smooth barked species, the inland scribbly gum (Eucalyptus rossii). Birds would glean (take prey while bird is perched) and peer, as well as drill in dead wood, for insects. A female was observed feeding on white punk (Laetiporus portentosus), a bracket fungus. Breeding Unlike treecreepers of the genus Climacteris, the white-throated treecreeper does not engage in cooperative breeding. The breeding season is August to December with one brood laid. The cup-shaped nest is composed of fur, hair, feathers, and moss in a hollow in a tree above the ground. A clutch of two or three creamy-white oval eggs is laid. Sparsely spotted with dark purple- or red-brown, they measure 23 x 18 mm. References Cited text External links White-throated Treecreeper videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection white-throated treecreeper Birds of Queensland Birds of New South Wales Birds of Victoria (Australia) Birds of South Australia Endemic birds of Australia white-throated treecreeper Articles containing video clips