Eurasian nuthatch
Sitta europaea Linnaeus, 1758
The Eurasian nuthatch (Sitta europaea) is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, belonging to the order Passeriformes and the family Sittidae. It is a small bird with a representative adult body mass of 20.37 g, up to 23.8 g, and a wingspan of 24 cm.
Quick facts about the Eurasian nuthatch
This sedentary, perching forest bird is an invertivore, placing it at the carnivore trophic level. It lays 7.4 eggs per clutch with 1 clutch per year, incubates them for 15 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 20.4 g – 23.8 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 24 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 12.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 12.9 years
- Main food
- arthropodssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 15 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 7.4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the Eurasian nuthatch?
Photos of the Eurasian nuthatch
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the Eurasian nuthatch live?
Not recorded
What is the Eurasian nuthatch?
The Eurasian nuthatch, wood nuthatch (Sitta europaea), or simply nuthatch, is a small passerine bird found throughout the Palearctic and in Eurasia. Like other nuthatches, it is a short-tailed bird with a long bill, blue-gray upperparts and a black eye-stripe. It is a vocal bird with a repeated loud dwip call. There are more than 20 subspecies in three main groups; birds in the west of the range have orange-buff underparts and a white throat, those in Russia have whitish underparts, and those in the east have a similar appearance to European birds, but lack the white throat.
Its preferred habitat is mature deciduous or mixed woodland with large, old trees, preferably oak. Pairs hold permanent territories, and nest in tree holes, usually old woodpecker nests, but sometimes natural cavities. If the entrance to the hole is too large, the female plasters it with mud to reduce its size, and often coats the inside of the cavity too. The six to nine red-speckled white eggs are laid on a deep base of pine or other wood chips.
The Eurasian nuthatch eats mainly insects, particularly caterpillars and beetles, although in autumn and winter its diet is supplemented with nuts and seeds. The young are fed mainly on insects, with some seeds, food items mainly being found on tree trunks and large branches. The nuthatch can forage when descending trees head first, as well as when climbing. It readily visits bird tables, eating fatty man-made food items as well as seeds. It is an inveterate hoarder, storing food year-round. Its main natural predator is the Eurasian sparrowhawk.
Fragmentation of woodland can lead to local losses of breeding birds, but the species's range is still expanding. It has a large population and huge breeding area, and is therefore classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as being of least concern.
From the Wikipedia article “Eurasian nuthatch” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eurasian_nuthatch&oldid=1384242622), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the Eurasian nuthatch sound like?
Is the Eurasian nuthatch endangered?
The Eurasian nuthatch is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the Eurasian nuthatch classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familySittidae
- genusSitta
- SpeciesSitta europaea Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Sitta caesia, Sitta europaea hassica, Sitta europaea itschangensis, Sitta europaea kongboensis, Sitta europaea nebulosa, Sitta europaea obscura, Sitta europaea taivana
Other names and names in other languages (100)
- Common nuthatchEnglish
- NuthatchEnglish
- Wood nuthatchEnglish
- خازن البندق الأوراسيArabic
- Chinchipera corretroncosAragonese
- piquetínAsturian
- rompeablanesAsturian
- Үрмәлсек турғайBashkir
- Звычайны попаўзеньBelarusian
- Звычайны папаўзень (або кавалік)Belarusian
- Горска зидаркаBulgarian
- Pokerig-kraoñBreton
- pica-soques blauCatalan
- ЦуняMari
- ШăнчасChuvash
- Ахаль шӑнчасChuvash
- brhlík lesníCzech
- Delor CnauWelsh
- Delor y CnauWelsh
- Delorion y CnauWelsh
- SpætmejseDanish
- KleiberGerman
- SpechtmeiseGerman
- SpechtsmeiseGerman
- ΔεντροτσοπανάκοςGreek
- Eŭropa sitoEsperanto
- eŭrazia sitoEsperanto
- Trepador azulSpanish
- puukoristajaEstonian
- Harilik puukoristajaEstonian
- GarrapoBasque
- کمرکولی جنگلیPersian
- کمرکُلی جنگلیPersian
- pähkinänakkeliFinnish
- rennisveinurFaroese
- Sittelle d'EuropeFrench
- Sittelle torchepotFrench
- BlauspjochtWestern Frisian
- CnóshnagIrish
- SgoltanScottish Gaelic
- Piquelo azulGalician
- Gabeador azulGalician
- ScoltanManx
- סיטה אירופיתHebrew
- csuszkaHungarian
- Սիտեղ սովորականArmenian
- Սովորական սիտեղArmenian
- HnotigðaIcelandic
- Picchio muratoreItalian
- ゴジュウカラJapanese
- КъэбцӀацӀэKabardian
- Орман көктекесіKazakh
- 동고비Korean
- ДжианKomi
- Terrer knowCornish
- KuesleeferLuxembourgish
- Grousse BamleeferLuxembourgish
- eurazinis bukutisLithuanian
- BukutisLithuanian
- dzilnītisLatvian
- унчылигисаMari
- унчыливуйкисаMari
- шопкекайыкMari
- обичен лазачMacedonian
- Өрнийн тоншголжинMongolian
- BoomkrüperLow German
- BoomkleverDutch
- spettmeisNorwegian
- Pic maçonPicard
- kowalik zwyczajnyPolish
- KowalikPolish
- kowalik (zwyczajny)Polish
- ځنگلي شين تړیPashto
- trepadeira-azulPortuguese
- Trepadeira-azul-comumPortuguese
- ŢicleanRomanian
- ȚicleanRomanian
- ȚicleteRomanian
- ВолчокRussian
- ПоползеньRussian
- Обыкновенный поползеньRussian
- Поползень большойRussian
- ПоповзеньRusyn
- Кэкэ-букаYakut
- ČáihnegaccetNorthern Sami
- niehttečáihniNorthern Sami
- brhlík obyčajnýSlovak
- brglezSlovenian
- Evroazijski brglezSlovenian
- BrgljezSerbian
- БргљезSerbian
- nötväckaSwedish
- SıvacıTurkish
- Bayağı Sıvacı KuşuTurkish
- повзик звичайнийUkrainian
- Trèo cây Á ÂuVietnamese
- 普通䴓Chinese
- 普通鳾Chinese
- 普通Chinese
- 茶腹鳾Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the Eurasian nuthatch
Other species in the same genus Sitta.
Western rock nuthatch
Sitta neumayer
Velvet-fronted nuthatch
Sitta frontalis
Eastern rock nuthatch
Sitta tephronota
Corsican nuthatch
Sitta whiteheadi
Red-breasted nuthatch
Sitta canadensis
White-breasted nuthatch
Sitta carolinensis
CompareEurasian nuthatch vs Western rock nuthatchEurasian nuthatch vs Velvet-fronted nuthatchEurasian nuthatch vs Eastern rock nuthatchEurasian nuthatch vs Corsican nuthatch
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the Eurasian nuthatch?
The Eurasian nuthatch is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup. It belongs to the order Passeriformes and the family Sittidae.
How heavy is the Eurasian nuthatch?
The Eurasian nuthatch has a representative adult body mass of 20.37 g, with values up to 23.8 g reported. Its wingspan is 24 cm.
What does the Eurasian nuthatch eat?
The Eurasian nuthatch is an invertivore, which places it at the carnivore trophic level.
What habitat does the Eurasian nuthatch live in?
The Eurasian nuthatch lives in forest. It is a sedentary, perching bird.
Is the Eurasian nuthatch endangered?
No. The Eurasian nuthatch is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the Eurasian nuthatch live?
The Eurasian nuthatch has a lifespan of 12.87 years, with values up to 12.92 years reported.
How many eggs does the Eurasian nuthatch lay?
The Eurasian nuthatch lays 7.4 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 15 days.
Who named the Eurasian nuthatch?
The Eurasian nuthatch, Sitta europaea, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Eurasian nuthatch (Sitta europaea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-nuthatch
“Eurasian nuthatch (Sitta europaea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-nuthatch.
@misc{eurasian_nuthatch_2026,
title = {Eurasian nuthatch (Sitta europaea)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-nuthatch},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}