Eurasian Nuthatch
Sitta europaea
Spætmejsen, 15 cm, er en almindelig ynglefugl i Danmark i ældre løvskove og parker. Uden for Danmark findes spætmejsen i størstedelen af Europa og østpå gennem Asien helt til Stillehavets kyst.
Compact and big-headed with a short tail and a long chisel bill: blue-grey above, orange-buff below (deepest in the west of the country) and a bold black .
Can be confused with
- Eurasian Treecreeper — Treecreeper is streaky brown with a thin decurved bill and only climbs upward, propped on its tail; the Nuthatch is blue-grey, descends just as readily and never uses the tail.
Plumage and variation
Male and female: The female shows slightly paler upperparts, a browner eye-stripe and a more washed-out flank tone.
Juvenile: Juvenile resembles the female but duller, with paler legs.
Voice
Highly vocal: a loud, sharp "dwip", usually doubled, and a slow whistled "pee-pee-pee" song in many variants.
Behaviour
Climbs up and — alone among Danish birds — down trunks head-first, without tail support. Hoards seeds and nuts in bark crevices year-round and plasters the nest-hole entrance with mud so starlings and other larger rivals cannot take it over.
When and where
A common resident of older deciduous woods and parks, but absent from west and north Jutland where old cavity trees are few; highly sedentary — it only reached Bornholm in 1995.
Facts
Wingspan
24 cm
Conservation status
ikke truet
Relatives
Family
nuthatches
Sittidae
Order
passerines
Passeriformes
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