Corsican nuthatch

Description

The adult male is 12 cm (4.7 in) long and weighs 11.8–14.4 g (0.42–0.51 oz).It has a black crown and eyestripe separated by a white supercilium.The upperparts are blue-grey and the throat and underparts are greyish-buff.The flight feathers are dark grey-brown fringed with blue-grey.The bill is black to grey-brown becoming pale grey on the base of the lower mandible,the iris is dark brown and the legs and feet are grey-brown or greyish.The female is similar to the male but has a grey crown and eyestripe.Young birds are duller versions of the adults.The Corsican nuthatch has a pu-pu-pu call and a trilled hididididididi song.Adults have a complete moult after breeding.Juveniles have a partial moult beginning about 8 weeks after fledging.The adult annual survival rate for male birds is 62 per cent which corresponds to an average lifetime of 2 years and 1 month.The maximum recorded age is 5 years and 7 months.