Species guide
Eurasian Nuthatch: how to recognise it
A bird of Europe, Africa and Asia. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Frank Vassen · CC BY · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Sitta europaea
- Family
- Nuthatches
- Size
- About 12–15 cm
- Habitat
- Mature woodland, parks and large gardens
- Found in
- Europe, Africa and Asia
The key marks
Blue-grey above with orange-buff underparts and a black stripe through the eye. It creeps head-first down trees.
Voice
A loud, ringing “twit-twit-twit”.
Good to know
It narrows the entrance of its nest hole with mud, and it is one of the few birds that routinely climbs down a trunk head-first.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in mature woodland, parks and large gardens. It is especially common in Sweden. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.