Przevalski's nuthatch

The nuthatches constitute a genus Sitta of small passerine birds in the family Sittidae. Nuthatches are typified by short, compressed wings and short, square 12-feathered tails, compact bodies, longish pointed , strong toes with long claws, and behaviourally, by their unique head-first manner of descending tree trunks. Most nuthatches have blue-grey and a black . One notable feature of Przevalski's nuthatch is that it lacks the eyestripe common to most nuthatch species. Sitta is derived from the Ancient Greek name for nuthatches, , . "Nuthatch", first recorded in 1350, is derived from "nut" and a word probably related to "hack", since these birds hack at nuts they have wedged into crevices. Sitta przewalskii was first described scientifically in 1891 by the Russian ornithologists Mikhail Mikhailovich Berezovsky and Valentin Bianchi The common name and Latin binomial commemorate the Russian explorer Nikolay Przhevalsky, who found the species in Tibet in 1884 and dubbed it "Sitta eckloni" without providing adequate description, rendering it a nomen nudum. Though the native ranges of Sitta przewalskii and S. leucopsis (white-cheeked nuthatch) are separated from each other by almost , In 1996, the Oriental Bird Club split the species from S. leucopsis in its checklist An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of the Oriental Region; this was followed in 2005 by the Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide, the journal BirdingAsia in 2007, and by the International Ornithological Congress, No subspecies of S. przewalskii itself have been identified. == Description ==

Przevalski's nuthatch is a medium-sized nuthatch, measuring about in length. except for the male's brighter cinnamon colour. The area above the eyes, including the , crown and nape, is a deep blue-black, through the top edge of the . The mantle proper is a medium to dark grey-blue as are the tertials and upperwing-coverts, turning to a dark grey at the median, greater and and the alula. The secondaries and inner primaries are fringed in grey-blue. The central rectrices are grey-blue, and the outer are a blackish-grey, paling towards the tips. The face and surrounding areas, including the , supercilium, ear-coverts, and are a white buff-orange. Below, the belly and breast are a rich cinnamon, darkening to an orange-cinnamon at the sides of the breast. The rear and feathers are rufous. In worn , the colour may be uneven in the and lighter in hue. The of the bill is black, and the is grey with a black tip. The iris and legs are dark brown. Juveniles resemble adults, except for the base of the beak being yellow, proportionately shorter, and the overall colour being less vibrant. == Behaviour ==

The territorial calls of Sitta przewalskii differ significantly from those of S. leucopsis, whose notes are more nasal, whereas the song of S. przewalskii is in long verses composed of whistles that ascend in pitch, interspersed with short notes. According to the Handbook of the Birds of the World, the calls include a "muffled, mellow 'chip' repeated in irregular series...; a loud, emphatic, whistled 'dweep' or 'dweep-eep'; a slightly nasal, querulous 'que', usually repeated 3–5 times...; and thinner 'pee-pee-pee-pee...' or 'seet-seet-seet-seet...' notes on [the] same pitch but slowing towards [the] end of [the] phrase." and one leading a solitary life, much like nearby populations of three-toed woodpeckers (Picoides tridactylus funebris). By contrast, Ludlow observed the species in southeastern Tibet, probably during the winter, and did not find it particularly reserved. He reports having killed a specimen in a willow, far from the species' usual coniferous nesting grounds. == Distribution and habitat ==

The species is native to an area in west central China and southeastern Tibet. In China, it is found in eastern Qinghai, from the Daba Mountains as far north as the Menyuan Hui Autonomous County, and as far south as the plateau of Amdo (35° N. 101° E.), as well as in the southern part of Qinghai in Nangqên County; in the area of the Yellow River in Xinghai County; in Gansu, southwest of Xiahe and Min counties; in Sichuan, where it has been observed in the north, centre and west of the province, including sightings in Songpan County at the Jiuzhaigou Valley nature reserve, in the Qionglai Mountains in the Wolong District, in the region of Barkam County, and in the area of Litang. The species has also been observed in Kunming, Yunnan, in far southwestern China, where it most likely migrates to overwinter. In Tibet, the species has been found in the northeastern Tibet Autonomous Region in the Chamdo Prefecture; and in the southeast of the region in Tse (in December) and in Dzeng (in April), both in the South Tibet (Tsangpo) Valley region. The Tsangpo Valley sightings may be anomalous, only indicating winter visitation. The bird observed in Dzeng was in an environment alien to the species' normal coniferous forest environs, and both the Dzeng and Tse individuals had atypically pale underparts, indicating they may have been nominate S. leucopsis, but with genetic introgression traits from Przevalski's nuthatch. S. przewalskii inhabits coniferous montane forest of spruce or fir. Its altitudinal range commonly approaches the forest tree line. In China it has been observed at altitudes of (in Sichuan during August) and in Qinghai at and at approximately (during June). In Tibet individuals have been recorded at heights of in the northeast, and from in the southeast. == Threats and protection ==

Sitta przewalskii is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature . Although the population is believed to be declining, the decline is not considered severe enough to warrant listing as Vulnerable. File:Sitta przewalskii Keulemans.jpg|Illustration of S. przewalskii by Keulemans File:SittaLeucopsisGould.jpg|Illustration by Gould & Richter of a white-cheeked nuthatch pair, the closest relative of S  przewalskii, showing its obviously whiter underparts == Notes and references ==

Notes References == Bibliography ==