Description
Nuthatch card by Julian Williams
SKU: B35
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)
Greeting card with coloured envelope featuring common visitors to the bird table
The cards and mugs in this series are ideal gifts and cards for bird lovers
TEXT written on the back of the card
The Eurasian nuthatch (Sitta europaea)
There are 24 species of Nuthatch. The Eurasian nuthatch has the widest range which extends from the Portugal, Scandinavia and the British Isles in the west to Korea and Japan in the East.
Nuthatches have sturdy dagger like bills which they use as a tool for wedging nuts and insects into crevices in trees before hacking them to pieces. This gave the birds the name Nuthacks which was the precursor of the modern Nuthatch. They have powerful claws that are well adapted for scurrying along the trunks of trees and these birds are unique in the avian world for being able to walk headfirst down a tree, earning them the nickname Devil Downheads.
The birds commonly venture out of their natural woodland habitat into our gardens to collect nuts from bird tables which they then hide and store for the winter. In spring they feed their young on caterpillars and beetles.
They build their nests in old woodpecker holes but if the entrance hole to their nest is too big they will plaster the entrance with mud to reduce the size. From this activity they have gained other names like Mud Dabbler, Mud Stopper.
More about Nuthatches
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/nuthatch/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_nuthatch
https://community.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/f/all-creatures/8980/21-facts-about-nuthatches
