E
ven the least confident ornithologist can be
sure they’ve seen a nuthatch (Sitta europaea)
if, out of the corner of their eye, they spot
a bird climbing down a tree. No other avian
species descends a trunk (treecreepers ascend
then f ly from the top to the base of another
and repeat) – a skill envied by its neighbours, presumably,
and carried out in order to forage for insects on the bark.
The woodland-dweller pulls off its unique feat by placing
one large foot after the other, rather than side by side.
And as if to emphasise its talent, it strikes a particularly
impressive pose when pausing to look upwards on its
journey, creating a distinctive soft V shape between its
large head and small body. It can even hang upside down
from the underside of a branch. In fact, there’s something
of the comic-strip character about this stout little bird, who
pulls off a rather dashing combination of grey-blue cloak
(cap and wings) and apricot lower parts, with a Zorro-style
mask-cum-Captain Jack Sparrow sweep of eyeliner.
The bandit look is also a hint to its lack of garden-feeder
etiquette – despite its cute proportions (it’s just 14cm long),
the nuthatch doesn’t do communal dining, regularly
entering into disputes and showing aggression towards
finches as well as other nuthatches – thus gaining a
reputation for being downright grumpy. It’s monogamous
and the male will direct the female back if she strays too
near the edge of their patch, but during the breedingseason, the roles are reversed and it is her who then
becomes dominant over him.
The nuthatch isn’t shy of a little DIY. The female is
largely responsible for building the nest, siting it in an
existing cavity and adjusting the size of the entrance
by plastering it with mud if it’s too large (even a split in
the tree’s bark is repaired in this way), and lining it with
materials such as wood chips and bark. It will also take to
nesting boxes (with 32mm-diameter entrance holes). Listen
for its cheery ‘chwit, chwit, chwit’ call this and next month
as it prepares to hatch out its clutch of up to eight eggs and
raise its brood. Its diet consists mainly of insects when
available, but in autumn it turns to acorns, beechmast,
hazelnuts, peanuts and seeds. Watch closely to see its
food-caching behaviour – frequent return visits to feeders
may suggest the bird is storing future supplies under
fissures in bark or concealing them with pieces of
vegetation to be consumed in colder weather. Smart. It gets
its name (thought to be from the Middle English ‘nuthak’)
by virtue of its strong, dagger-like bill with which it cracks
open nuts in the crevices of trees (the bird has also earned
the nickname nut-jobber).
Population-wise, it’s doing nicely. There are around
220,000 breeding pairs in England and Wales, and it’s taken
up residence in the south of Scotland, too. So, fill up your
feeders and you may be in for some first-rate entertainment
ILLUSTRATION: ZUZA MI courtesy of the little bird with the big personality.ŚKOWords: RUTH CHANDLER
A
N^
AP
PRECIATION^ OF (^) T
HE
NUT
HATC
H
E
ven the least confident ornithologist can be
sure they’ve seen a nuthatch (Sitta europaea)
if, out of the corner of their eye, they spot
a bird climbing down a tree. No other avian
species descends a trunk (treecreepers ascend
then f ly from the top to the base of another
and repeat) – a skill envied by its neighbours, presumably,
and carried out in order to forage for insects on the bark.
The woodland-dweller pulls off its unique feat by placing
one large foot after the other, rather than side by side.
And as if to emphasise its talent, it strikes a particularly
impressive pose when pausing to look upwards on its
journey, creating a distinctive soft V shape between its
large head and small body. It can even hang upside down
from the underside of a branch. In fact, there’s something
of the comic-strip character about this stout little bird, who
pulls off a rather dashing combination of grey-blue cloak
(cap and wings) and apricot lower parts, with a Zorro-style
mask-cum-Captain Jack Sparrow sweep of eyeliner.
The bandit look is also a hint to its lack of garden-feeder
etiquette – despite its cute proportions (it’s just 14cm long),
the nuthatch doesn’t do communal dining, regularly
entering into disputes and showing aggression towards
finches as well as other nuthatches – thus gaining a
reputation for being downright grumpy. It’s monogamous
and the male will direct the female back if she strays too
near the edge of their patch, but during the breedingseason, the roles are reversed and it is her who then
becomes dominant over him.
The nuthatch isn’t shy of a little DIY. The female is
largely responsible for building the nest, siting it in an
existing cavity and adjusting the size of the entrance
by plastering it with mud if it’s too large (even a split in
the tree’s bark is repaired in this way), and lining it with
materials such as wood chips and bark. It will also take to
nesting boxes (with 32mm-diameter entrance holes). Listen
for its cheery ‘chwit, chwit, chwit’ call this and next month
as it prepares to hatch out its clutch of up to eight eggs and
raise its brood. Its diet consists mainly of insects when
available, but in autumn it turns to acorns, beechmast,
hazelnuts, peanuts and seeds. Watch closely to see its
food-caching behaviour – frequent return visits to feeders
may suggest the bird is storing future supplies under
fissures in bark or concealing them with pieces of
vegetation to be consumed in colder weather. Smart. It gets
its name (thought to be from the Middle English ‘nuthak’)
by virtue of its strong, dagger-like bill with which it cracks
open nuts in the crevices of trees (the bird has also earned
the nickname nut-jobber).
Population-wise, it’s doing nicely. There are around
220,000 breeding pairs in England and Wales, and it’s taken
up residence in the south of Scotland, too. So, fill up your
feeders and you may be in for some first-rate entertainment
ILLUSTRATION: ZUZA MI courtesy of the little bird with the big personality.
ŚKO
Words: RUTHCHANDLERA
N
AP
PRECIATION OF T
HE
NUT
HATC
H