The western rock nuthatch (''Sitta neumayer'') (sometimes known simply as rock nuthatch) is a small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

which breeds from

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

east through

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. This

nuthatch The nuthatches () constitute a genus, ''Sitta'', of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs. Mo ...

is largely resident apart from some post-breeding dispersal. The eastern rock nuthatch ''Sitta tephronota'' is a separate species, which occurs further east in south-central Asia. The western rock nuthatch is a

associated with habitats with bare rocks, especially in mountainous areas. Those at the highest altitudes may move lower down in winter. It feeds on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s and

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

s in summer, supplemented with seeds and

snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

s in winter. It feeds on the ground, and will wedge larger items in rock crevices while it hammers them open with its strong bill. It will also flycatch. The western rock nuthatch is 13.5 cm long, slightly smaller than

Eurasian nuthatch The Eurasian nuthatch or wood nuthatch (''Sitta europaea'') is a small passerine bird found throughout the Palearctic and in Europe. Like other nuthatches, it is a short-tailed bird with a long bill, blue-gray upperparts and a black eye-stripe. ...

, and has the typical nuthatch big head, short tail and powerful bill and feet. It is long-legged and long-billed compared to most of its relatives. Several subspecies of ''Sitta neumayer'' are described: * ''Sitta neumayer neumayer'' Michahelles, 1830; this subspecies of southeast

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

is dark grey above, and has a long strong black eyestripe. It has a white throat and underparts shading to buff on the belly. Sexes are similar, and young birds are slightly duller versions of the adults. Two other races in the west of its

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n range are similar but less well marked. * ''Sitta neumayer zarudnyi'' Buturlin, 1907; Greece and Turkey. * ''Sitta neumayer syriaca'' Temminck, 1835; western and central Turkey to Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. * ''Sitta neumayer rupicola'' Blanford, 1873; far eastern Turkey to northern Iraq and northern Iran. * ''Sitta neumayer tschitscherini'' Zarudny, 1904; western Iran; paler grey above and has a much weaker eyestripe. * ''Sitta neumayer plumbea'' Koelz, 1950 of southern Iran resembles ''tschitscherini'', but has grey underparts. Sitta neumayer MWNH 1444

This territorial species builds a flask-shaped nest from mud, dung and hair or feathers in a rock crevice, cave, or under an overhang on a rock face. Decorative items may be pushed into crevices and cracks near the entrance to the nest. The nest is lined with softer materials and the entrance is sealed with mud. 4-10 eggs are laid, and are white speckled with yellow. The western rock nuthatch has a ''tsik'' call and a trilled ''tui tui tui '' song. It is common in suitable habitat in most of its range.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

believed that it was these birds that inspired man to build homes of earth in imitation of the western rock nuthatch's nests.

References

* ''Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers'', Harrap and Quinn, {{Taxonbar, from=Q749701

western rock nuthatch The western rock nuthatch (''Sitta neumayer'') (sometimes known simply as rock nuthatch) is a small passerine bird which breeds from Croatia east through Greece and Turkey to Iran. This nuthatch is largely resident apart from some post-breeding di ...

Birds of Southern Europe Birds of Georgia (country) Birds of Azerbaijan Birds of West Asia

Taxa named by Karl Michahelles