Profile
In flight
Songbirds
Corsican Nuthatch
Sitta whiteheadi
- rare
- 28 km/h
- Vulnerable
Lives only in Corsican pine forests above 1,000 meters. Descends tree trunks headfirst. Found nowhere else on Earth.
- Population
- ~3,100-4,400 mature individuals (approx. 4,600-6,600 total birds; ~1,500-2,200 breeding pairs)
- Habitat
- Mature high-altitude Corsican pine (Pinus nigra subsp. laricio/corsicana) forest, and to a lesser extent maritime pine, mostly above 1,000 m (breeding), descending somewhat in winter; sedentary; requires old/dead pines (150+ years) for nest cavities
- Fun fact
- The Corsican Nuthatch is the only bird species found nowhere else on Earth but France, restricted entirely to the island's ancient high-altitude Corsican pine forests — and it's the adopted logo of the local Corsican ornithological group.
- Range
- Endemic to the island of Corsica, France — the only bird species endemic to metropolitan France; scattered mountain forest populations from Tartagine-Melaja in the north to Ospedale in the south, plus isolated pockets in Castagniccia and Cagna, concentrated around the Cinto, Rotondo, Renoso and Incudine massifs; extent of occurrence roughly 3,800 km²
- Diet
- Mainly Corsican pine seeds (cached under bark/lichen for lean periods), supplemented with arthropods (insects, larvae, spiders) caught in flight or gleaned from bark, especially when feeding young
- Size
- 0.115 m
- Wingspan
- 0.215 m
- Lifespan
- 6 years
