Brown Treecreeper - Fledging and Dispersal

Fledging and Dispersal

Chicks fledge between 21 and 26 days most likely over a period of a few hours. Initially not able to fly strongly, the fledglings roost in hollows and spouts of trees for one or two days, and are fed by members of the group until independent thirty to forty days later. In a season, breeding groups successfully produce at least one fledgling 50% of the time. The first moult to adult plumage occurs two months after fledging, while adults start moulting in November or February, finishing in March or April. Natal dispersal occurs after winter when most females will disperse to locate an area to breed. Dispersal by males of the species rarely occurs and they commonly remain in their natal territory as helpers until a breeding vacancy arises by inheritance or by territorial budding (when a male paired with a dispersing female inherits a portion of his natal territory). Females disperse earlier than males moving further than the males (up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi)) to establish a breeding territory.