Nuthatch

 

The nuthatch (Sitta europaea) is not unlike a great tit in size and general shape, but much more like a woodpecker in its habits. It is a woodland bird, found in mature deciduous, coniferous and mixed woods and forests in southern England and Wales, as well as throughout Europe except for Ireland and northern Scandinavia. It will also visit parks and gardens, where sunflower seeds left on bird tables are a particular attraction.

Appearance

The nuthatch measures around 14 centimetres (5.5 inches) in length. For a small bird it has quite a long bill, which is black, sharp and pointed. It is a plump-looking bird, with a short tail. The plumage, which is similar in males and females, is blue-grey on the top of the head and back, much lighter underneath but with chestnut-brown (paler in the females) at the sides and under the tail. A prominent black line divides the blue-grey crown from the almost white throat, this line crossing the eye and ending at the base of the head on each side.

Behaviour and feeding

The nuthatch’s flight is undulating, mainly from tree to tree. Its movements on tree trunks and branches are acrobatic as it jerks up, down and sideways, even hanging upside down from branches. The nuthatch is wary and restless when on the ground, which is not often.

The nuthatch feeds on nuts, large seeds, insects and spiders. It will take a nut or seed and wedge it into the bark of a tree, which is when it most resembles a woodpecker as it uses its pointed bill to hammer at the food to break it open.

Breeding

The nest is a tree cavity lined with bark chips or dead leaves. If the opening is too large, the female nuthatch will narrow it by plastering the edges with mud mixed with saliva, until the hole is the right size. Between six and ten eggs are laid in late April or early May, the female nuthatch incubating them alone for 13 or 14 days. The male nuthatch will spend the night in another cavity nearby during the incubation and nesting period.

Both parents feed the nestlings, which are ready to leave the nest after about 24 days, when they join their parents clambering up and down the tree trunk in search of food. Only one brood is raised.

The nuthatch rarely roams far from its breeding grounds, which means that all the birds seen in a locality are likely to be closely related.

 

© John Welford