Alternative name: Wood Nuthatch
- Sitta europaea
Identification
14cm.
- Blue grey upperparts
- Black eyestripe
- White below
- Chestnut vent
- Short tail
Distribution
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
There are 19 subspecies:
- S. e. caesia: underparts rusty-red, vent dark reddish-brown
- S. e. europaea: Scandinavia and Russia to Volga and Vyatka basins and Ukraine
- S. e. asiatica: White supercillium and sometimes a white forehead
- S. e. arctica: North-central Siberia to Anadyr River (eastern Russia)
- S. e. hispaniensis: Iberian Peninsula
- S. e. atlas: Morocco
- S. e. cisalpina: Southern Switzerland, Italy, Sicily and coastal Yugoslavia
- S. e. levantina: Western Asia Minor, Levant and southern Turkey (east to Euphrates River)
- S. e. caucasica: Northern and north-eastern Turkey, Caucasus region and Transcaucasia
- S. e. rubiginosa: South-eastern Transcaucasia (Talyshskiye and Gory mountains) to northern Iran
- S. e. persica: Zagros Mountains (south-western Iran)
- S. e. seorsa: North-western China (eastern Tien Shan Mountains of northern Xinjiang)
- S. e. sakhalinensis: Sakhalin (Russia)
- S. e. albifrons: Kamchatka Peninsula, Paramushir Island and northern Kuril Islands
- S. e. amurensis: South-eastern Russia to north-eastern China, Korea and Honshu (northern Japan)
- S. e. roseillia: Southern Japan (south-eastern Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu)
- S. e. bedfordi: Cheju-Do Islands (Korea)
- S. e. sinensis: Central and eastern China and Taiwan
- S. e. nebulosa: Southern China (lowlands of southern Yunnan)
Habitat
Breeds in mixed and deciduous woods and parkland.
Behaviour
They travel head-first down trees and are often seen on the underside of branches.
Breeding
It nests in holes, lined with grass and bark, in old trees. The clutch consists of 5-8 white, red speckled eggs.
Diet
The diet includes insects, seeds and nuts. Visits garden feeders in winter. Will store food in the autumn for retrieval in the winter months.
Vocalisation
Call: tui-tui-tui.
<flashmp3>Sitta europaea (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Wikipedia
- Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Eurasian Nuthatch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 7 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Eurasian_Nuthatch
External Links
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