How do woodcreepers climb tree trunks like woodpeckers?

Woodcreepers (subfamily Dendrocolaptinae) and woodpeckers (family Picidae) share a similar method of climbing tree trunks, though they belong to different orders of birds.

Woodcreepers climb by using their broad, stiff tail feathers as a prop to support their body against the tree trunk as they work their way upward to probe bark for insects. This mechanism is functionally similar to that of woodpeckers, which also utilize strong, stiffened tail feathers to prop themselves up while they forage.12

While both groups have evolved to climb vertical surfaces, their anatomical specializations differ. Woodpeckers possess a complex of leg muscles and toe arrangements—often involving zygodactylous (yoke-toed) feet—that allow them to maintain their position while hammering into wood. In contrast, woodcreepers are passeriform birds that rely on their stiffened tails to facilitate their upward movement along trunks. Other birds, such as the Certhiidae (tree creepers), also employ similar adaptations, including long, stiff tail feathers, to assist in climbing and foraging in woodlands.213