# Eurasian nuthatch (*Sitta europaea*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-nuthatch  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 20.4 g – 23.8 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 24 cm |
| Lifespan | 12.9 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 12.9 years |
| Main food | arthropods |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 15 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 7.4 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Perching |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Passeriformes
- family: Sittidae
- genus: Sitta
- species: *Sitta europaea* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Sitta caesia*, *Sitta europaea hassica*, *Sitta europaea itschangensis*, *Sitta europaea kongboensis*, *Sitta europaea nebulosa*, *Sitta europaea obscura*, *Sitta europaea taivana*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Eurasian nuthatch (Sitta europaea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-nuthatch