Western Rock Nuthatch (Sitta neumayer) - BirdLife species factsheet

Western Rock Nuthatch Sitta neumayer

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Species attributes

Migratory status	altitudinal migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	26 g

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	3,360,000 km²
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	2500000-12999999 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2012
Population trend	stable	-	suspected	-
Generation length	4 years	-	-	-

Population justification: In Europe, the breeding population is estimated to number 1,030,000-5,080,000 pairs, which equates to 2,060,000-10,200,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International 2015). Europe forms c.80% of the global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is 2,575,000-12,750,000 mature individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed.

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats. The European population is estimated to be stable (BirdLife International 2015).

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor
Albania	extant	native		yes
Armenia	extant	native		yes
Azerbaijan	extant	native	yes
Bosnia and Herzegovina	extant	native		yes
Bulgaria	extant	native	yes
Croatia	extant	native	yes
Georgia	extant	native		yes
Greece	extant	native	yes
Iran, Islamic Republic of	extant	native	yes
Iraq	extant	native	yes
Israel	extant	native	yes
Lebanon	extant	native	yes
Montenegro	extant	native		yes
North Macedonia	extant	native	yes
Serbia	extant	native		yes
Slovenia	extant	vagrant
Syria	extant	native	yes
Türkiye	extant	native	yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Armenia	Meghri
Azerbaijan	Gobustan area
Bulgaria	Arda Bridge
Bulgaria	Dobrostan
Bulgaria	Kresna Gorge
Bulgaria	Krumovitza
Bulgaria	Madzharovo
Bulgaria	Mesta Valley
Bulgaria	Studen Kladenets
Greece	Acherontas gorge and estuary
Greece	Akarnanika mountains
Greece	Dadia - Dereio - Aisymi forest
Greece	East Lakonia mountains
Greece	Lake Dystos
Greece	Mount Erymanthos
Greece	Mount Gkiona
Greece	Mount Mavrovouni, Larisa
Greece	Mount Ochi and surrounding marine area
Greece	Mount Olympos and pine forest of central Lesvos
Greece	Mount Parnassos
Greece	Mount Taygetos
Greece	Mount Ymittos
Greece	National Park of Dadia - Lefkimi - Soufli forest
Greece	Paramythia mountains
Greece	South forest complex of Evros prefecture
Greece	Southern Mani, mount Sangias and cape Tainaro
Greece	Southwestern Lesvos and Petrified forest
Greece	Valtou mountains
Iraq	Amedi and Sulav
Iraq	Bakhma and Bradost Mountain
Iraq	Barzan Area and Gali Balnda
Iraq	Benavi and Sararu
Iraq	Chami Razan
Iraq	Doli Smaquli and Ashab
Iraq	Gara Mountain and Garagu
Iraq	Hawraman Area
Iraq	Mangesh
Iraq	Peramagroon Mountain
Iraq	Qara Dagh
Lebanon	Shouf Cedars Nature Reserve
Lebanon	Upper Mountains of Akkar-Donnieh
North Macedonia	Demir Kapija Gorge
North Macedonia	Lake Tikvesh
North Macedonia	Mariovo
North Macedonia	River Pchinja-river Petroshnica-river Kriva Reka
North Macedonia	River Topolka-river Babuna-river Bregalnica
North Macedonia	Taor Gorge
Syria	Mount Hermon

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		major	resident
Shrubland	Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation	suitable	resident
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Western Rock Nuthatch Sitta neumayer. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/western-rock-nuthatch-sitta-neumayer on 22/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/11/2024.