Brown Treecreeper feeding chicks of Common Starling.

The article documents an observation of a native Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus) feeding chicks of the introduced Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) in a tree hollow at Browns Road Monarto Woodlands Reserve, South Australia. This behavior, not previously recorded for these species, may result from the starlings usurping a nesting hollow originally used by treecreepers, prompting the male treecreeper to continue feeding the starling chicks possibly as a helper bird. The report highlights the ecological concern posed by Common Starlings, which often appropriate nesting sites from native hole-nesting birds, potentially disrupting their breeding success.