Corsican Nuthatch (Sitta whiteheadi)

Family
Sittidae (Nuthatches)

Size
12 cm

First Described (Guide)
Sharpe, 1884

Habitat
Mature stands of Corsican pine with abundant dead and rotting trunks for nest sites. From 1,000 - 1,500 m.

Range (Guide)

France (B) (NB), Spain (NB).

Inland mountain ridges on Corsica (from Tartagine south to Ospedale and Mt Cagna).

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 3,100 - 4,400 (2010) and decreasing.

Status VU
Forest fires and logging of mature Corsican pines are the main threats.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Largely on insects and spiders during May-August, switching to seeds, especially those of the Corsican pine, during the rest of the year.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (68)...)

Corsican Nuthatch (Sitta whiteheadi) [XC448024]
by Patrik \u00c5berg from Georges de la Restonica, Corsica, France (song)

Corsican Nuthatch (Sitta whiteheadi) [XC471650]
by Stanislas Wroza from Quenza, Corse-du-Sud, Corse, France (alarm call, call, song, mating calls)

Subspecies
No subspecies.

A member of a species group that contains also Algerian Nuthatch (Sitta ledanti), Krueper's Nuthatch (Sitta krueperi), Snowy-browed Nuthatch (Sitta villosa), Yunnan Nuthatch (Sitta yunnanensis) and Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis), and all sometimes thought to form a superspecies. Formerly treated as conspecific with Snowy-browed Nuthatch (Sitta villosa) and Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis). Cclose relationship with these two supported by recent data on mitochondrial DNA, which indicate also a more distant relationship to Krueper's Nuthatch (Sitta krueperi) and Algerian Nuthatch (Sitta ledanti) (no Yunnan Nuthatch (Sitta yunnanensis) material was available for analysis). Earlier taxonomic separation of present species from Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) based on studies of vocalizations, together with those of breeding biology and behaviour. A nesting pair of nuthatches resembling present species and Snowy-browed Nuthatch (Sitta villosa) found at 2000 m in Altai Mts of extreme southern Siberia (at Aktru, south of Karay) in 2006. This could represent a remarkable range extension of either species, or an as yet undescribed species, but requires verification.

References
See References.

Files:

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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