Nuthatch Facts - Information About Nuthatch

Nuthatch - Sitta Europea

The Nuthatch is another one of those birds which is unmistakeable, the difficulty is finding it. Like the Treecreeper it is a woodland bird that creeps like a mouse, however, the Nuthatch goes down the trunk, the Treecreeper goes up. The plumage is unlike any other British bird, so once you find one, identification is easy.

Identification:

Adult

• Adult males and females are alike.


• Nuthatch’s are small birds, around 14cm, they often appear ‘bull headed’ and fairly angular.


• Nuthatch’s travel down the tree trunk, they stay close to it and move like a mouse.


• Adults upperparts are a velvety blue grey, this continues onto the neck and crown.


• Tail is blue grey with dark centre and some white in outer tail.


• The head has a black eyestripe that extends from the bill, through the eye, over the ear coverts and down the sides of the nape.


• Under this, the face and cheeks are white.


• The underparts are a lovely rusty buff colour with white spotting on the undertail coverts, these can be quite difficult to see.


• Females lack the intense rusty underparts but are still a beautiful rich buff.


• The bill is strong and long which gives head a very angular pointy look.


• Eye is dark, bill grey, legs brown.

Juvenile

• Juveniles appear from April onwards and are very similar to adult females.


• Like females the younger birds are paler below than the males, they are often paler than adult females and just look creamy white.


• Belly and undertail is also pale.


• Bill grey, eye black, legs brown.

Status and Distribution

The Nuthatch is a common breeding resident in the UK with over 200,000 pairs. The Nuthatch occurs in the southern part of the country fromCumbria down, they are thinly distributed in Scotland and absent in Ireland.

Habitat/Food

Nuthatches occur in many habitat types throughout the UK, however they favour deciduous woodlands but will visit parks and gardens, indeed any open country habitat with suitable trees.

Nuthatches will visit Feeders in the garden and take Peanuts, Suet , Fat Balls and Seed Mixes.

Song/Call

Nuthatches are vocal little birds and you will often be attracted to their call or song before you see the bird.
Call is a Tit like, a buzzy sharp ‘chit chit chit’
Song note is a flutey, toy whistle like; ‘tewit tewit tewit’.