Rock nuthatch
| Rock nuthatch | ||||||||||||
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A rock nuthatch ( Sitta neumayer ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Sitta neumayer | ||||||||||||
| Michahelles , 1830 |
The rock nuthatch ( Sitta neumayer ) is a representative of the nuthatch that lives in Southeast Europe and Asia Minor as far as Iran . It is very similar to other nuthatches; it can be distinguished from more eastern species by the lack of a white underside of the tail and by its voice. It produces a series of sloping whistles. The habitat also differs, because the rock nuthatch is the only nuthatch that climbs rocks. Overall, the bird looks very pale and the young birds are even more dull in color than their parents. These animals show little fear of humans.
Distribution of the subspecies
The nominate form ssp. neumayer lives in southeastern Europe. On Lesbos and in western Turkey ssp. zarudnyi before. The subspecies ssp. syriaca inhabits southern Turkey, Syria and northern Israel. From Turkey to western and northern Iran, ssp. rupicola , in central Iran ssp. Tschitscherini and in southern Iran ssp. plumbea .
habitat
During the breeding season, the birds can be found on rock faces, on steep slopes strewn with rubble, on ruins and eruptions on the northeastern coast of the Mediterranean . In winter you can also see the rock nuthatch in orchards.
Reproduction
The males begin their singing, which cannot be overheard, in March. At the end of March to the beginning of April, the couple begins building the nest, which takes around 10 days. If there is a natural rock cave, the animals wall the entrance up to a narrow loophole. On the other hand, they build a pot-shaped nest made of clay and saliva on rough or smooth walls. This mortar will later become so hard that you can no longer open the nests with your hands or with a knife. Some of them can still be found decades later. Every now and then many different nests from bygone times can be found in favorable angles. Nests are very rarely made in trees. The nest is soft on the inside and lined with moss, wool and especially feathers and, notably, with mouse hair that comes from crumbled owl wool. The 4 to 8 eggs are incubated by the female for 14 to 15 days in April. The young do not leave the nest until they are fully airworthy. After that they will be looked after by their parents for a few days.
food
Insects and spiders are fetched from cracks in the rock and the vegetation on the rocks. Various fruits and seeds are also on the menu in autumn .
literature
- Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers , Harrap and Quinn, ISBN 0-7136-3964-4 .
proof
Web links
- Pictures: While feeding the young
- drawing
- Sitta neumayer in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on December 23 of 2008.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for Sitta neumayer in the Internet Bird Collection
- Feathers of rock gruel
