Alternative name: Wood Nuthatch
- Sitta europaea
Includes: Siberian Nuthatch
Identification
14cm.
- Blue grey upperparts
- Black eyestripe
- White below
- Chestnut vent
- Short tail
Distribution
Europe and Asia.
Fairly common to locally common in its range.
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) - sometimes split as Siberian Nuthatch
- 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.
A monogamous and territorial species. The size of the nest entrance is often reduced by plasterng with mud. Sometimes the interior is also plastered to protect against wind and rain.
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 6 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Eurasian_Nuthatch
External Links
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