Birds Guide

Nuthatches
Male Eurasian Nuthatch
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Class: Aves   Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sittidae Lesson, 1828 Genus: Sitta Linnaeus, 1758
Species
22 species, see text

The nuthatches are a family, Sittidae, of generally very similar small passerine birds found throughout the Northern hemisphere.

The nuthatch family, Sittidae, traditionally contained 23 species. The subfamily Sittinae held the 22 species of “true” nuthatches, and the subfamily Tichodromadinae held a single species, the unique Wallcreeper, Tichodroma muraria, which is now separated in its own family, Tichodromadidae.

Most nuthatches are woodland birds, although a few species have adapted to rocky habitats. They have the unusual ability to climb down trees head first, unlike species such as woodpeckers which can only go upwards.

Nuthatches have big heads, short tails and powerful bills and feet. Their shape is distinctive, and all species are recognizable as nuthatches if one has been seen.

They are generally omnivorous, taking insects, nuts and seeds. Most are resident, but the Red-breasted Nuthatch migrates from the north of its range.

Nests are in holes or crevices. In some species the size of the hole is reduced by the building of a mud wall.

This group gets its name from the habit of the Eurasian Nuthatch of wedging a nut in a crevice in a tree, and then hacking at it with its strong bill.

The list of species below, all in the genus Sitta (Linnaeus, 1758), is probably the maximum. Some taxonomists consider that some of the indicated species are in fact conspecific.

Family: Sittidae

• Eurasian Nuthatch, Sitta europaea
  Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, Sitta nagaensis
  Kashmir Nuthatch, Sitta cashmirensis
  Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch, Sitta castanea
  White-tailed Nuthatch, Sitta himalayensis
  White-browed Nuthatch, Sitta victoriae
  Pygmy Nuthatch, Sitta pygmaea
  Brown-headed Nuthatch, Sitta pusilla
  Corsican Nuthatch, Sitta whiteheadi
  Algerian Nuthatch, Sitta ledanti
  Krüper's Nuthatch, Sitta krueperi
  Chinese Nuthatch, Sitta villosa
  Yunnan Nuthatch, Sitta yunnanensis
  Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis
  White-cheeked Nuthatch, Sitta leucopsis
  White-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis
  Western Rock Nuthatch, Sitta neumayer
  Eastern Rock Nuthatch, Sitta tephronota
  Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Sitta frontalis
  Yellow-billed Nuthatch, Sitta solangiae
  Sulphur-billed Nuthatch, Sitta oenochlamys
  Blue Nuthatch, Sitta azurea
  Giant Nuthatch, Sitta magna
  Beautiful Nuthatch, Sitta formosa

References

• Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers, Harrap and Quinn, ISBN 0-7136-3964-4
• The Nuthatches, Erik Matthysen, Academic Press 1998, ISBN 0-85661-101-8

External links

• Nuthatch videos on the Internet Bird Collection