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Western Rock Nuthatch
(Sitta neumayer)
: "Rock Nuthatch"
 German name(s): "Felsenkleiber"
Size: 14-15.5 cm
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
The appearance of Western Rock Nuthatches varies slightly
across various races.
Western Rock Nuthatches have a light front (white cheeks,
ear coverts, chin and chest and creamy to buff belly, vent
and undertail coverts) and grey upperparts, from the forehead
via the crown, mantle back and rump to uppertail, including
the wings.
Across the face, the two are separated by prominent black
eye stripes, which is long, extending well behind the eyes,
and narrow behind the eyes.
They have short tails and wings and long, dark, pointed bills.
The irises are dark; the legs and feet are grey.
They are small, compact birds with strong legs and feet.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Western
Rock Nuthatch at Wikipedia  .
Click here for classification information
A nuthatch is not a treecreeper. They are more closely related
to the Australasian Varied
Sittella.
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based
on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to the
ebird.org
website.
The global distribution of the Western Rock Nuthatch is available
HERE
.
There are at least 3 races of Western Rock Nuthatches, which
are a sedentary species throughout their range.
Their distribution extends from south-eastern Europe to
south-western Asia. Their breeding range includes all
suitable rocky terrain from Croatia in the West to the
border region of Iran and Turkmenistan in the East.
In Europe Western Rock Nuthatches are present only in the
South-east, along the Adriatic coastline from Croatia to
Greece, with some also found farther inland, into Macedonia
and southern Bulgaria.
Western Rock Nuthatches have a strong preference for rocky
terrain. In Europe they are found mostly near sea level,
e.g. in karst, while elsewhere they are most common at
altitudes between 1000 and 2500 m.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Race "tschitscherini"
We have not seen a Western Rock Nuthatches, race "tschitscherini",
in Europe yet.
The photo shown below is of a bird found by D. Wilczynska in
Georgia, on the southern slopes of the Caucasus, in June 2018.
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Photos |
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Race "tschitscherini"
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ADULT |
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Dorsal view of an Western Rock Nuthatch clinging to a rockface;
note the thinness of the eye-stripe behind the eye
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[June 2018]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
