Alternative name: Persian Nuthatch
- Sitta tephronota
Identification
- Grey upperparts and crown
- White breast
- Buffy underparts
- Dark eye mask
- White lower face and throat
- Grey bill
- Dark iris
- Grey legs and feet
Distribution
Middle East and Asia:
Middle East: Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Armenia
Asia: Turkestan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 4 subspecies[1]:
- S. t. dresseri:
- S. t. obscura:
- Southern Transcaucasia to northern Iran and north-eastern Turkey
- S. t. tephronota:
- Extreme eastern Turkmenistan to Pamirs, Afghanistan and Pakistan
- S. t. iranica:
- Southern Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan (Kyzylkum Desert)
Habitat
Rocky gorges, cliffs and rocks on mountain slopes 400-2000m.
Behaviour
Both sexes build the nest on rock from clay; the chamber is lined with grass, feathers and hair. The 5-7 eggs are incubated only by the female who is fed by the male. Both parents feed the young.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Wikipedia
- Birds of Kazakhstan
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Eastern Rock Nuthatch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Eastern_Rock_Nuthatch
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
