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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Dec 14, 2011 23:49:02 GMT
I was at 2,000 meters above sea level in a mountain behind Montreux, Switzerland and above Lake Geneva. I caught glimpses of this small bird. It has the colorings of a Wood Nuthatch but was bigger and holding a nut. ID please?  |
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Post by alainpascua on Dec 15, 2011 3:29:18 GMT
Wow, 2,000 meters asl! Did you hiked all the way up, Ramon? Looks like you're in a slanting position when you took this photo. Was it cold up there?
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Dec 15, 2011 4:04:38 GMT
No way, Alain! I'm a dude birder. I drove my rental car up the mountain and stopped whenever I saw or heard birds. In Europe, especially Switzerland, the governments build roads everywhere including up steep mountains. There is the tiny hamlet of Caux and a ski resort at the top of the mountain road above Montreux.
Yes, it was cold and crisp that morning.
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Post by Bob Kaufman on Dec 15, 2011 7:04:41 GMT
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) most likely caesia subspecies.
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Post by steve pryor on Dec 15, 2011 7:21:06 GMT
Bob is right, Sitta europaea. The bird is an adult male. To rule out a race caesia I would need the bird ITH to examine the coloration of the undertail. In Switzerland, the ranging race should be S. e. cisalpina.
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Dec 15, 2011 13:46:18 GMT
Thanks for the ID, Bob and Steve. So, I was right that it was a Wood or Eurasian Nuthatch. Funny, I posted a photo of one less than 2 weeks ago in "Birds of Gargano National Forest, Italy", but that nuthatch was tiny and noticeably smaller than this one. Maybe it was a juvenile.
I just learned that nuthatches feed not only on insects but on seeds and nuts too - which is why they have the name "nuthatch".
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