List of Eurasian nuthatch subspecies

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Sitta europaea -Kent, England-8.jpg
S. e. caesia (United Kingdom), part of the S. e. caesia group of subspecies
Sitta europaea europaea, Onnerod, Sweden 2.jpg
S. e. europaea (Sweden), part of the S. e. europaea group

The Eurasian nuthatch (Sitta europaea) is a small passerine bird found throughout temperate Asia and in Europe. There are more than 20 subspecies, but the precise number depends on how small differences between populations are evaluated. This article follows the 2013 Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive treatment, which has more recognised forms than the 1996 Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers. Given the similarities between geographical forms of the Eurasian nuthatch, subspecies boundaries are somewhat fluid, although fewer than half as many are recognised now as in 1967. [1]

Contents

The Eurasian nuthatch taxa can be divided into three main groups; the S. e. caesia group of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the S. e. europaea group of Scandinavia, Russia, Japan and northern China and the S. e. sinensis group of southern and eastern China and Taiwan. These may have been geographically isolated from each other until relatively recently. Birds of intermediate appearance occur where the group ranges overlap. The descriptions below are of the male. The female is usually slightly duller with a brown tint to the eyestripe and paler underparts, although the sexes are very similar in the S. e. sinensis group. [2] [3]

S. e. caesia group

The S. e. caesia group is found in much of Europe, as well as North Africa and the Middle East. Members of the subspecies group have buff breast and a white throat.

Subspecies listed geographically [3]
SubspeciesAuthorityRangeDescription
S. e. caesia Wolf, 1810 [4] Much of western Europe south to northern Spain, the Alps, Greece and western Turkey, north to Denmark, and east to the western regions of Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.Upperparts blue grey, black eye-stripe, white throat. Rest of underparts orange-buff, becoming brick red at rear and on flanks. White markings on undertail.
S. e. hispaniensis Witherby, 1913 [5] Central and southern Spain, Portugal and northern MoroccoLike S. e. caesia, but underparts paler pink-buff
S. e. cisalpina Sachtleben, 1919 [6] Southernmost Switzerland, Italy including Sicily, southern Croatia and southwest MontenegroLike S. e. caesia, but underparts brighter and more orange-tinted, bill shorter and more pointed
S. e. levantina Hartert, 1905 [7] Southern TurkeyLike S. e. hispaniensis but underparts more pink and less buff, pale flanks, slightly paler grey upperparts
S. e. persicaWitherby, 1903 [8] Southeast Turkey, northern Iraq and western IranSmall, paler grey upperparts, white forehead and supercilium, creamy underparts, bill short and thin
S. e. caucasica Reichenow, 1901 [9] Northeast Turkey, southwest Russia, Georgia, Armenia and AzerbaijanSmall, dark grey upperparts, forehead often whitish, underparts bright orange-buff
S. e. rubiginosa Tschusi & Zarudny, 1905 [10] South Caucasus and northern IranLike S. e. caucasica but upperparts darker, underparts paler, usually lacks white forehead

S. e. europaea group

The S. e. europaea group is found in Scandinavia and Russia, through to Japan and northern China. Members of the group have a white breast.

Subspecies listed geographically [3] [lower-alpha 1]
SubspeciesAuthorityRangeDescription
S. e. europaea Linnaeus, 1758 [11] Southern Scandinavia and the Baltic islands, western Russia, eastern Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, northwest Turkey and UkraineThe nominate subspecies. Upperparts blue-grey, black eye-stripe. Throat and underparts off-white or creamy, rusty red flanks and rear
S. e. asiatica Gould, 1837 [12] Central Russia west to Lake Baikal, north Kazakhstan and west MongoliaAs nominate, but smaller. Shorter and more pointed bill, white forehead and supercilium
S. e. arctica Buturlin, 1907 [13] Northeast Siberia.Large with a narrower and shorter black eye-stripe than any other form, little white on the forehead or supercilium. Breast and centre of underparts white, flanks extensively chestnut
S. e. baicalensis Taczanowski, 1882 [14] Siberia east from Lake Baikal, central Mongolia and northeast ChinaLarger than S. e. asiatica, with a longer bill and darker upperparts, little white on forehead and supercilium
S. e. sakhalinensisButurlin, 1916 [15] Sakhalin Island Much smaller than S. e. baicalensis with slightly paler upperparts and a white forehead. Short bill
S. e. clara Stejneger, 1887 [16] Southern Kurils and Hokkaido (Japan)Larger than S. e. asiatica, relatively pale upperparts, paler more obvious white forehead and supercilium
S. e. takatsukasai Momiyama, 1931 [17] Central Kuril IslandsLargest bill of all the subspecies. Pure white belly, greyer upperparts, upperparts similarly pale but not so bluish, strong white forehead and supercilium
S. e. albifronsTaczanowski, 1882 [14] Northeast Russia and the northern Kuril Islands Large with heavy bill, dark upperparts, buff tint to belly
S. e. amurensis R. Swinhoe, 1871 [18] Russian Manchuria, Primorsky Krai (Russia), northeast China and KoreaLarge with massive bill, upperparts darker than S. e. baicalensis, little white, if any, on white of forehead or supercilium
S. e. hondoensisButurlin, 1916 [15] Honshu, Shikoku and northern Kyushu (Japan)Similar to S. e. amurensis, but upperparts slightly paler and bluer, prominent white forehead and supercilium, bill slightly smaller
S. e. roseillia Bonaparte, 1850 [19] Southern KyushuSimilar to S. e. amurensis, but upperparts darker, lower breast and belly more rufous-tinged
S. e. bedfordi Ogilvie-Grant, 1909 [20] Cheju Island, South KoreaSimilar to S. e. roseillia, but throat and breast whiter and belly darker orange-buff
S. e. seorsa Portenko, 1955 [21] Northwest ChinaLike S. e. asiatica but slightly larger, white of forehead and supercilium more prominent and belly pale buff

S. e. sinensis group

Subspecies in the S. e. sinensis group are found in south and east China, as well as Taiwan. They have a buff breast and throat.

Subspecies listed geographically [3] [lower-alpha 2]
SubspeciesAuthorityRangeDescription
S. e. sinensis Verreaux, 1870 [22] South and east ChinaThroat and underparts pale buff, brighter on sides, rear flanks brick-red
S. e. formosanaButurlin, 1911 [23] TaiwanLike S. e. sinensis but smaller with longer bill, pale upperparts and whitish forehead

Notes

  1. ↑ Harrap and Quinn lump S. e. baicalensis, S. e. takatsukasai, S. e. clara and S. e. hondoensis into S. e. asiaticus
  2. ↑ Harrap and Quinn lump S. e. formosana into S. e. sinensis

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-breasted nuthatch</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-breasted nuthatch</span> Species of bird

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The blue nuthatch is a bird species in the nuthatch family Sittidae. It is a medium-sized nuthatch, measuring 13.5 cm (5.3 in) in length. The species, which shows slight sexual dimorphism, has dramatic coloration unlike any other member of its genus. Its head is black or blackish-blue dark blue upperparts close to purple with azure feathers. The wings are edged with black. The throat and chest are white or a washed buff color, contrasting with the upperparts and the belly of a very dark blue; the covert feathers are generally clear, blue-gray or purplish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashmir nuthatch</span> Species of bird

The Kashmir nuthatch is a species of bird in the family Sittidae. It is found in the northernmost regions of the Indian subcontinent, primarily in the mid-altitudes of the Himalayas. The species ranges across Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Pakistan. The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as common in eastern Afghanistan and north-western India, and fairly common in Nepal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut-vented nuthatch</span> Species of bird

The chestnut-vented nuthatch is a species of bird in the nuthatch family Sittidae. It is a medium-sized nuthatch, measuring 12.5–14 cm (4.9–5.5 in) in length. The upperparts are a solid gray blue, with a markedly black loral stripe. The underparts are uniform gray to buff from the throat to belly, with brick red on the flanks. The undertail is white with a rufous border. The chestnut-vented nuthatch utters different kinds of calls, which can sometimes sound like a troglodyte alarm, and its song is a monotonous, stereotypical crackle, typically chichichichi. Its ecology is poorly known, but it probably feeds on small arthropods and seeds, and the breeding season begins between March and May. The nest is typically located in a hole in the trunk of a tree, and the clutch has two to five eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-browed nuthatch</span> Species of bird

The white-browed nuthatch, also known as the Victoria nuthatch, is a species of bird in the family Sittidae. It is a small nuthatch, measuring 11.5 cm (4.5 in) in length and without sexual dimorphism. Like many other nuthatches, the upperparts are gray-blue, contrasting with white underparts on the throat, cheeks, and breast and orange on the flanks, belly, and lower abdomen. Its white supercilium makes it easy to distinguish it from the white-tailed nuthatch, which is a close species in the systematic and geographical sense. Little is known about its ecology, but it feeds on small insects found among bark and lichens, and breeding occurs around April.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese nuthatch</span> Species of bird

The Chinese nuthatch or snowy-browed nuthatch is a species of bird in the family Sittidae. It is a small nuthatch, measuring 11.5 cm (4.5 in) in length. The upperparts are blue-gray and the underparts from a dull buff-grayish to a cinnamon-orange; the cheeks are white. There is a marked sexual dimorphism: the adult male is distinguished by its very black crown, while that of the female is the same blue-grey as the back, or at most dark gray when the plumage is worn. In both sexes, a dark gray eyestripe extends in front of and behind the eye, topped by a clear white supercilium separating it from the crown. The song is variable, and composed of repetitions of small invariant whistles. The species feeds mainly on insects in summer and completes its diet with seeds and fruits. The nest is generally placed in the hole of a conifer. The pairs raises one brood per year, with five or six chicks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yunnan nuthatch</span> Species of nuthatch endemic to China

The Yunnan nuthatch is a bird species in the nuthatch family Sittidae. It was first described by William Robert Ogilvie-Grant in 1900 based on a male holotype. It is a small nuthatch, measuring 12 centimetres (4.7 in) in length on average and weighs between 7.5 and 13 grams. The grey-blue upperparts contrast with the light, smooth, buffy lowerparts. It has a fine white eyebrow above a black eyestripe, which is distinct when the plumage is fresh, and exhibits a small degree of sexual dimorphism. A noisy bird, it produces simple, nasal sounds, sometimes in repetitive series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siberian nuthatch</span> Species of bird

The Siberian nuthatch is a bird species of the family Sittidae. For a long time considered as a subspecies of the Eurasian nuthatch, it was clearly differentiated in 2006 on the basis of morphological and molecular characters. It is on average larger than the Eurasian nuthatch and also differs in some morphological features such as the shape of its bill, the size of its claws and the color of its underwing and outer rectrices. Its song has also been described as "distinctly different" from that of the Eurasian nuthatch, though without further clarification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Przevalski's nuthatch</span> Small passerine bird endemic to southeastern Tibet and west central China

Przevalski's nuthatch, originally given the nomen nudumSitta eckloni, is a bird species in the family Sittidae, collectively known as nuthatches. Long regarded as a subspecies of the white-cheeked nuthatch, it nevertheless differs significantly in morphology and vocalizations. Both S. przewalskii and S. leucopsis have been regarded as closely related to the North American white-breasted nuthatch. It is a medium-sized nuthatch, measuring about 13 cm (5 in) in length. Its upper body is a dark gray-blue or slate color, becoming dark blue-black at the crown. The cheeks and throat are a white buff-orange, turning to a rich cinnamon on the underparts that intensifies in color on the sides of the breast. Vocalizations consist of alternating series of ascending whistles and short notes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant nuthatch</span> Species of bird

The giant nuthatch is a species of bird in the family Sittidae. It is the largest of the nuthatches, measuring 19.5 cm (7.7 in) in length. Its upperparts are bluish gray, with the front being light gray, contrasting with the darker rest of the back. The bird has two very thick black eyebrow lines and light gray underparts, with whitish cheeks and throat, and a belly more or less washed with buff and cinnamon. For a nuthatch, it has a long beak and tail. The female can be distinguished from the male by its duller eye features and its upperparts having less contrast between the crown, nape, and lower back. The calls are powerful and made up of repetitions of simple patterns. The species gleans its food from the trunks and branches of trees, especially pines, and feeds on insects and berries. It nests around March, in the hole of a tree and without masking the entrance, and the nest has about three young.

References

  1. ↑ Greenway, James C; Mayr, Ernst; Moreau, Reginald E; Rand, Austin L; Salomonsen, Finn; Snow, David (1967). Check-list of Birds of the World: A Continuation the Work of James L. Peters. Vol. XII. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. pp. 126–128.
  2. ↑ Harrap, Simon; Quinn, David (1996). Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 109–114. ISBN   978-0-7136-3964-3.
  3. 1 2 3 4 del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi; Christie, David A. (eds.). "Eurasian Nuthatch" . Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  4. ↑ Meyer, Bernhard; Wolf, Johann, eds. (1810). Taschenbuch der deutschen Vögelkunde, oder, Kurze Beschreibung aller Vögel Deutschlands, Erster Theil (in German). Vol. Th. 1-3, c. 1. Frankfurt: Verlegt von Friedrich Wilmans. p. 128.
  5. ↑ Witherby, Harry Forbes (1913). "Amended name, Sitta europcea hispaniensis, for S. minor Brehm". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 31: 78.
  6. ↑ Sachtleben, H. (1919). "Sitta europaea cisalpina subsp. n." Anzeiger der Ornithologischen Gesellschaft in Bayern (in German). 1: 7–8.
  7. ↑ Hartert, Ernst (1903). Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna systematische Übersicht der in Europa, Nord-Asien und der Mittelmeerregion vorkommenden Vögel (in German). Vol. 3. Berlin: R. Friedländer & Sohn. p. 333.
  8. ↑ Witherby, Harry Forbes (1903). "Journey in Fars, S.W. Persia". Ibis. Series 8. 3 (4): 531. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1903.tb03955.x.
  9. ↑ Reichenow, Anton (1901). "Sitta caesia caucasica Rchw. n. sp". Ornithologische Monatsberichte (in German). 9: 53.
  10. ↑ Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen, Viktor von; Zarudny, Nikolai (1905). "Über palaearktische Formen. (IX.)" (PDF). Ornithologisches Jahrbuch (in German). 16: 140.
  11. ↑ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata (in Latin). Vol. v.1. Holmiae: Laurentii Salvii. p. 115.
  12. ↑ Gould, John (1837). The birds of Europe. Vol. 3. London: John Gould. p. 236.
  13. ↑ Buturlin, Sergei Aleksandrovich (1907). "Sitta europaea arctica". Псовая и ружейная охота [Hounds and Hunting Rifle] (in Russian). 13: 87.
  14. 1 2 Taczanowski, Władysław (1882). "Oiseaux recueillis par le Dr Dybowski au Kamtschatka". Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France (in French). 7: 385.
  15. 1 2 Buturlin, Sergei Aleksandrovich (1916). "Труды Императорского Петроградского общества естествоиспытателей" [A short Review of Nuthatches (Fam. Sittidae)]. Императорское Петроградское общества естествоиспытателей [Imperial Naturalist Society of Petrograd] (in Russian). 44: 158, 170.
  16. ↑ Stejneger, Leonhard Hess (1886). "Review of Japanese Birds: Part II Tits and Nuthatches" (PDF). Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum. 9 (578): 392. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.9-578.374.
  17. ↑ Momiyama, Tokutaro T. (1931). "The Sittidae or family of nuthatches". Kaidori (in Japanese). 2 (8): 20.
  18. ↑ Robert, Swinhoe (1871). "Mr. R. Swinhoe on the birds of China". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1871 (2): 350.
  19. ↑ Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1850). Conspectus generum avium (in Latin). Vol. 1. Lugduni Batavorum [Leyden]: E. J. Brill. p. 227.
  20. ↑ Ogilvie-Grant, William Robert (1909). "Sitta bedfordi, sp. n." Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 23: 59.
  21. ↑ Portenko, Leonid Aleksandrovich (1955). "[Detailed descriptions of new passerine birds]". Зоологический институт академии наук СССР [Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of USSR] (in Russian). 18: 497.
  22. ↑ Verreaux, Jules (1870). "Notes sur les espèces nouvelles d'oiseux recuillis par M. Abbé Armand David dans les montagnes de Thibet Chinois". Bulletin des Nouvelles Archives du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle (in Latin). 6: 34.
  23. ↑ Buturlin, Sergei Aleksandrovich (1911). "Интересные находки" [Interesting findings]. Наша Охота [Our Hunt] (in Russian). 8: 51.
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