The Algerian nuthatch (Sitta ledanti ) is a species of bird in the nuthatch family Sittidae. It is a medium-sized nuthatch, measuring between 11.5 cm (4.5 in) and 12.5 cm (4.9 in). The upperparts are bluish gray. The male can be distinguished from the female by the black front of its crown. The species is sedentary; it feeds on arthropods in summer and on seeds in winter. The breeding season takes place around May–June. The nest, built in a hole of tree, shelters a laying of three or four eggs, brooded by the female. The chicks are fed by both parents.
The Algerian nuthatch is the only bird species endemic to Algeria, where it now inhabits only certain coniferous forests in the north of the country. Its scientific name pays tribute to Jean-Paul Ledant, a Belgian amateur naturalist who discovered the bird in October 1975; the description of the bird was made by the French ornithologist Jacques Vielliard. The news of this discovery greatly surprised the ornithological world and received international media coverage. The Algerian nuthatch is closely related to Krüper's nuthatch (Sitta krueperi ). The bird has only a limited and relict range, threatened by fire, erosion and human action; the species is therefore considered "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The Algerian nuthatch is a medium-sized nuthatch; it measures between 11.5 cm (4.5 in) and 12.5 cm (4.9 in), with a mass of about 18 grams (0.63 oz). The upperparts are overall bluish gray; the tail has a small subterminal white band bordered with beige. The belly is washed with light salmon-beige up to the undertail coverts; the latter are gray at their base. The male has a black forehead and a dark eyestripe, separated from the crown by a broad, sharp white supercilium. In females, the crown and eyestripe are the same gray as the back, with the front of the crown sometimes darker (when the plumage is worn), but not as dark as in males. In both sexes, the sides of the head and the throat are white. The iris are brown-black, the legs lead-gray and the bill bluish-gray. Juvenile plumage is similar to that of the female, but duller and with an inconspicuous supercilium; after leaving the nest, bill growth and pigmentation of the bill and legs are incomplete.
Within its range, the Algerian nuthatch cannot be confused with any other bird. The closest nuthatch geographically is the Eurasian nuthatch (Sitta europaea ) which inhabits some localities in the Rif; this species is larger than the Algerian, has no black on the crown and has yellow (or white for some subspecies) underparts tending to orange around the rump. The Algerian nuthatch strongly resembles the Corsican nuthatch (Sitta whiteheadi ), but the black crown differs in the males: that of the Algerian species covers the front of the head, as opposed to the whole head in the islander. The underparts are of a warmer pinkish buff in the Algerian species. It is phylogenetically very close to Krüper's nuthatch (Sitta krueperi ), with the front of the crown dark in the male and the supercilium marked white, but Krüper's nuthatch has pale gray underparts and a large russet-brown pectoral patch.
The Algerian nuthatch is the only bird endemic to Algeria. It inhabits certain areas of Kabylia, where it has been recorded in five localities isolated from each other by areas unsuitable for its survival. It was first discovered on Mount Babor, only about 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi) from the Mediterranean coast. Its optimal habitat covers only 2.5 km2 (0.97 sq mi), and the area is home to only 80 pairs according to a 1985 estimate. Then it was spotted in Guerrouch, within the Taza National Park, in June 1989, which has a larger population of around 350 individuals. Smaller numbers were discovered in 1990 in two other localities near this park, in Tamentout and Djimla. In the spring of 2018, a new breeding site was discovered in Ghabet Ezzen which is located between the communes of Chahna and Oudjana in the Jijel province. On September 24 of the same year, two amateur ornithologists, Karim Haddad and Larbi Afoutni, went to the site; about twenty individuals were observed and photographed in the Lerabaa forest. The bird could be present in other oak groves of Petite Kabylie, but has not been documented yet.
The Algerian nuthatch lives in oak forests between 350 m (14,000 in) and 1,120 m (44,000 in) in altitude and in mixed forests of oak, maple, poplar and coniferous trees from 2,000 m (79,000 in) altitude. It appreciates humid forests with large trees offering cavities, including the Algerian fir (Abies numidica ), Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica ), Afares oak (Quercus afares ), cork oak (Quercus suber ) and Portuguese oak (Quercus faginea ). The Babor Mountains, dominated by fir trees, offer a rather cool and humid climate, with snow in winter; in the Guerrouch, oaks are dominant and the climate is warmer and drier. At lower altitudes, such as Tamentout, forests are dominated by cork oak, and stand densities are lower than at higher altitudes (above 1,000 m (3,300 ft)), where this species is replaced by deciduous oaks such as Algerian oak (Quercus canariensis ) and Afares oak. A study conducted in Mount Babor between the summers of 1981 and 1982 showed that the factors apparently favorable to the Algerian nuthatch in this massif were "the diversity of tree species, the size (or age) of the trees and indirectly the climate at altitude".
The Algerian nuthatch's diet has not been extensively studied. It varies according to the season. In summer, it feeds mainly on insects (mainly caterpillars and beetles) and spiders that it finds by surveying the trunks and branches of oak trees. In winter, insects are scarce and the Algerian nuthatch feeds on coniferous seeds which provide a constant supply. They generally feed alone, but may form mixed feeding flocks outside the breeding season.
The breeding season occurs from May to June in Tamentout and Mount Babor, earlier or later depending on weather conditions and food availability; at higher altitudes it may start later. In Taza National Park, the breeding season ends in late June. The nest is built in a tree hole, perhaps from a rough lodge of a great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major ), in a dead fir tree or in the asperities of an oak or cedar tree, and is usually placed between 4–15 m (13–49 ft) from the ground. The bottom is lined with plant debris (wood chips, dead leaves) or animal material such as tawny owl (Tyto alba ) feathers or wild boar (Sus scrofa ) hair. While incubation is carried out by the female alone (the male does not have a brood patch), both parents feed the young. Clutches have three or four fledgings. After the breeding season, adults undergo a full post-nuptial moult and young undergo a partial post-nuptial moult.
The main threat to the Algerian nuthatch is the destruction of its habitat. Fires, in particular, are destroying the old mixed forests on the top of Mount Babor, which are being replaced by poorer vegetation dominated by cedars. Cattle grazing and illegal deforestation (Mount Babor and Tamentout) are another threat to the habitat, even in Taza National Park. The construction of a motor road in the 1970s, which led to soil erosion and an increased risk of fire, or the fight against terrorism in the region, which is a source of disturbance for the species. The Algerian nuthatch may have several predators during incubation, such as the least weasel (Mustela nivalis ), the garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus ) or the great spotted woodpecker.
The species is protected in Algeria as one of 32 species listed in Decree No. 83-509 of August 20, 1983 on protected non-domestic animal species. The nuthatch was included in a 1980 petition by the BirdLife International requesting that the U.S. federal government add 60 foreign species to the federal endangered lists. This request was published in the official gazette of the United States. The petition was published in the Federal Register the following year, but these species, including the Algerian nuthatch, were not added to the endangered species lists until 1995.
The largest population is found in a protected area, the Taza National Park. To safeguard the species, it would be good to know more about the size of the existing populations and their ecological preferences. However, protective measures have already been put forward, including habitat restoration or preservation through reforestation, planting of firewood outside of existing forests, and fire prevention. The Algerian nuthatch is a flagship species for the preservation of the Babor Mountains forest.
