Corsican nuthatch facts for kids
The Corsican nuthatch (Sitta whiteheadi) is a small bird that belongs to the nuthatch family, called Sittidae. It measures about 12 cm (4.7 in) long. Its back is bluish-gray, and its belly is grayish-white. Male Corsican nuthatches have a completely black cap on their heads, which helps tell them apart from females.
This bird stays in Corsica all year round. It is territorial, meaning it defends its home area, and it's not very shy. Corsican nuthatches often feed high up in Corsican pines. They mostly eat pine nuts but also catch flying insects. They breed between April and May. Their nests are built inside old pine tree trunks, and they usually lay five to six eggs. The young birds leave the nest about 22 to 24 days after hatching.
The Corsican nuthatch lives only on the island of Corsica. It prefers old forests of tall laricio pines, moving to lower areas in winter. Its scientific name comes from John Whitehead, an ornithologist who first told scientists about this bird in 1883. The Corsican nuthatch is closely related to the Chinese nuthatch (S. villosa) and the red-breasted nuthatch (S. canadensis).
Sadly, this bird is in danger because it's losing its nesting spots and its habitat is breaking into smaller pieces. Scientists estimate there are only about 2,000 Corsican nuthatches left, and their numbers might be slowly decreasing. Because of its small population and limited home, the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the Corsican nuthatch as "vulnerable".
Contents
Discovering the Corsican Nuthatch
How Was This Bird Found?
The Corsican nuthatch was first discovered by an ornithologist named John Whitehead. On June 13, 1883, he was in Corsica observing other birds when he spotted and collected a male Corsican nuthatch.
Whitehead realized this bird was special. He asked Richard Bowdler Sharpe, another expert, for help. Sharpe confirmed that this bird had not been described by science before. Whitehead kept the exact location of his discovery a secret at first. He worried that too many collectors might harm the species.
Whitehead returned to Corsica in May 1884. He found more nuthatches and collected five specimens. He also found nests, some as high as 30 m (1,200 in) off the ground. He opened two nests and found five eggs in each.
Other naturalists later studied the bird. In the 1960s, German ornithologist Hans Löhrl began studying its breeding, feeding, and behavior. Since the 1990s, local groups and ornithologists like Jean-Claude Thibault have closely studied the species.
What's in a Name?
The Corsican nuthatch was officially named by Sharpe in March 1884. He named it Sitta whiteheadi after John Whitehead, who first brought it to scientific attention. The Corsican nuthatch is sometimes placed in a smaller group called Micrositta. It does not have any different types or "subspecies."
For a while, from 1911 to the 1950s, some thought the Corsican nuthatch was just a type of red-breasted nuthatch (S. canadensis). However, later studies, especially by Hans Löhrl, showed that it was a distinct species.
Family Tree of Nuthatches
Scientists use DNA to understand how different species are related. Studies in 1998 and 2014 looked at the DNA of many nuthatch species. They found that the Corsican nuthatch is closely related to the Chinese nuthatch and the red-breasted nuthatch. These three species share a unique feature: only the males have a completely black cap on their heads.
This research suggests that these birds might have spread from Asia. The Corsican nuthatch may be a very old species that once lived in a wider area. Over time, as pine forests shrank, it became "trapped" in Corsica and evolved there.
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What Does It Look Like?
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The Corsican nuthatch is a small bird, about 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in) long. Its wingspan is 21–22 cm (8.3–8.7 in), and it weighs around 11–12.6 grams (0.39–0.44 oz). It has a small head and a short, thin, blackish-gray beak. Its eyes are black, and its legs and toes are light brown.
The bird's back is bluish-gray, and its belly is pale grayish-buff. Its throat is whiter. Males have a black cap and forehead, plus a black stripe through their eyes. A wide, bright white stripe separates the black cap from the eye stripe. Females have a gray cap and eyebrow line, similar to their back color. Both sexes have white cheeks and throat.
Young birds look similar to adults but are a bit duller in color. They develop their adult colors as they grow.
How Does It Sound?
The Corsican nuthatch has a light, whistling contact call, like pu. It often repeats this sound in a series, pupupupu. When it's upset, it makes a rough, drawn-out sound, pchèèhr. It can also make a faster psch-psch-psch or chay-chay-chay sound.
Its song is clear, loud, and fast, like dididididi. It reminds some people of the alpine swift. The bird sings regularly in spring but is quieter during the breeding season.
Similar Birds
The Corsican nuthatch is the only nuthatch found in Corsica. However, it might look a bit like the coal tit (Parus ater), which also lives in Corsican forests and has similar head markings.
Other nuthatches, like the Eurasian nuthatch from mainland France, are larger and have different colors. The Chinese nuthatch has brighter colors on its belly. Krüper's nuthatch has a reddish-brown patch on its belly that the Corsican nuthatch does not. The red-breasted nuthatch, found in North America, has yellowish underparts. The Corsican nuthatch looks most like the Algerian nuthatch, but the Algerian male only has a black front part of its cap.
Where Does It Live?
The Corsican nuthatch is the only bird species found only in Corsica. Its home covers most of the island, which is very mountainous. You can find this bird from the Tartagine-Melaja forest in the north to the Ospedale forest in the south. It's especially common in the Monte Cinto, Monte Rotondo, Monte Renoso, and Monte Incudine massifs. There are also two smaller groups in Castagniccia and Cagna mountain.
This nuthatch prefers forests of Corsican pines (Pinus nigra laricio) that have open areas. These forests are usually dry in summer but get a lot of rain at other times. The Corsican nuthatch stays in these areas all year. It usually lives in deep valleys between 1,000 m (39,000 in) and 1,500 m (59,000 in) above sea level from April to October. In winter, it moves to lower elevations. It avoids forests with mostly hardwood trees.
Old pines are important because they provide plenty of food. The bird is not found where trees are small (less than 28 cm (11 in) across) or where Corsican pines are rare. They prefer large trees (over 16 m (630 in) tall) with wide trunks (over 58 cm (23 in)).
How Does It Behave?
Like all nuthatches, the Corsican nuthatch can climb down tree branches headfirst. It rarely spends time on the ground. It is a territorial bird and not very shy around people. It lives in monogamous pairs, meaning one male and one female stay together all year. They live in the same territory, which can be three to ten hectares big. Both birds defend their territory from other nuthatches or different species. The size of their home area changes with the seasons and how many pine cones are available.
What Does It Eat?
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The Corsican nuthatch mainly eats pine nuts. In summer, it also eats small flying insects. From March to November, its diet mostly includes small arthropods like adult insects, their larvae, and spiders. It catches about a quarter of its food while flying from a perch. The rest of the time, it finds food on trees.
In spring and summer, it often looks for food high in the pine tree branches, like a chickadee. In autumn, it searches along tree trunks and large branches. Outside the breeding season, it might join mixed groups of other small birds.
Pine cones start opening in November. The Corsican nuthatch uses its thin beak to get seeds from the cones. If there are many cones, they can find food until March. Like other nuthatches, they hide some seeds under bark, lichens, or plant bits. They eat these hidden seeds later, especially when snow covers the pine cones or when cones stay closed due to cold, wet weather. This habit of hiding food helps them stay in Corsica all year.
How Does It Raise Its Young?
Male Corsican nuthatches start singing in late December, but the breeding season is in April and May. If there are many pine cones, they breed earlier. If there are few cones, they wait until more insects are available. For nesting, they need old conifers that are 200 to 300 years old. These trees must have soft, dead, or rotting trunks.
Both the male and female dig out the nest. They often use holes made by great spotted woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major). The nest entrance is about 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) wide. The nest cavity is about 56 mm × 109 mm (2.2 in × 4.3 in) deep, and the nest itself is about 12 cm (4.7 in) deep. Nests are placed between 2–30 m (79–1,181 in) above the ground. They build the nest with pine needles, bark, and wood shavings. They line it with soft materials like feathers, moss, or horsehair.
The female lays eggs in late April or early May. She lays four to six (usually five) oval, white eggs with reddish-brown spots. The eggs are similar in size to those of a great tit. The female sits on the eggs for 14 to 17 days. The male brings her food about three times an hour.
The young birds usually leave the nest when they are 22 to 24 days old. If the first nest fails, the pair might try to breed again in late May or early June. About half of the pairs change trees for nesting each year. Young nuthatches can start breeding when they are one year old. Scientists estimate that about 61.6% of males survive each year. Some individuals have been known to live up to six years.
Threats and Conservation
How Many Are Left?
In the 1960s–1980s, there were an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 pairs of Corsican nuthatches. By 2013, the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimated there were 3,100–4,400 adult birds, or 4,600–6,600 birds in total.
The Corsican nuthatch was once considered "near threatened" or "least concern" by the IUCN. However, since 2010, it has been listed as "vulnerable". This is because its population is thought to have dropped by 10% in the last ten years.
What Dangers Do They Face?
The main reasons for the decrease in numbers are forest fires and logging. The Corsican pines that the nuthatch needs are not growing back as fast as they are disappearing. Cutting down dead pines also removes important nesting sites for these birds. After a fire, other tree species like maritime pine or holm oak often replace the laricio pines. Fires in 2000 and 2003 significantly reduced the nuthatch population in affected areas.
Other animals also pose a threat. The great spotted woodpecker might attack nests and young birds by making the nest hole bigger. Garden dormouses (Eliomys quercinus) are also potential predators. The Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) and the Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) might also hunt young nuthatches.
The breaking up of their habitat into smaller pieces is another threat. Nuthatches avoid open areas and young tree plantations because these places have a higher risk of predators. They only cross these areas if they are very narrow.
Studies suggest that climate change might not be the biggest threat to their habitat. Instead, the increased frequency and size of fires, along with more human activities, are bigger dangers.
How Are They Protected?
The Corsican nuthatch is fully protected in France. It is illegal to harm, capture, or disturb them. It's also against the law to destroy their eggs, nests, or their environment. You cannot transport, sell, or buy them, whether they are alive or dead.
About 9-11% of the birds live in special protected areas. Other smaller groups live in managed nature reserves. To protect the species, efforts focus on preventing and controlling fires. Also, specific forestry methods are planned to protect their habitat structure and ensure nesting sites are available.
The Nuthatch in Corsican Culture
The Corsican nuthatch is sometimes called Whitehead's nuthatch. In the Corsican language, it has several local names, such as pichjarina, pichja sorda, furmicula, and capinera.
Even though it's unique, the bird is not very well known to the public. The regional natural park of Corsica has published a small comic book about the bird. The "Corsican ornithological group" (GOC) even uses the nuthatch as its logo. In the Aïtone forest, the National Forestry Office created a "nuthatch trail," which is a good place to see the bird.
