Sitta europaea
This 18th Century watercolour of the Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) was painted by Charles Collins in April 1743 and now forms part of the Taylor White Collection.
The Range of the Nuthatch
Despite its diminutive size, the Nuthatch has an extensive range, found across Europe, Turkey, Iran, Mongolia, central China, eastern Russia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. In England and Wales it is a familiar resident of broadleaf woodland, remaining in its territory throughout the year rather than migrating.
Description of the Nuthatch
The bird is compact and plump, with a long, pointed bill, short legs and a distinctive black stripe running through the eye. Though sometimes compared to a small woodpecker in its climbing habits, the Nuthatch is unique among British birds for its ability to move headfirst down a tree trunk as readily as it climbs up, and it will even forage upside down along the underside of branches.
Nuthatches are resourceful nest builders, favouring tree holes or crevices in walls, which they line and narrow with mud and resin to deter predators from entering. During construction they make use of loose bark as a tool, sometimes carrying a favoured piece between tasks.
Their diet shifts with the seasons: insects form the bulk of their food in summer, giving way to nuts, seeds and berries in autumn and winter. True to their reputation for forward planning, Nuthatches cache surplus food beneath moss, bark and lichen, returning to these hidden stores when supplies run low.
c.1680 - 1744
Charles Collins (c.1680-1744) was a painter of birds, mammals and still life, born in Dublin and trained in Ireland before establishing himself in London. He built his early reputation on still-life subjects, including a series of fruit studies for Robert Furber's Twelve Months of Fruit (1732), before turning increasingly to natural history illustration. From 1736, Collins worked alongside Peter Paillou to produce watercolours of British birds and mammals for the naturalist and collector Taylor White, contributing over 200 signed works to White's collection. His animal studies are noted for their lifelike composition, typically set against a grassy mound or tree stump rather than a plain background, and for the accuracy with which plumage and colouring were recorded from live or preserved specimens. Collins died in London in 1744, described at the time as Bird Painter to the Royal Society.
Credit: Taylor White Collection, Rare Books & Special Collections, McGill University Library.