Eurasian Nuthatch

The Eurasian Nuthatch is a compact, short-tailed woodland passerine with a long pointed bill, blue-grey upperparts and a strong black stripe through the eye. Underpart colour varies geographically: western birds are often orange-buff below, northern forms can be much whiter, and eastern birds differ again in throat pattern. Strong feet allow the bird to climb head-first down trunks as well as upward. Its repeated, loud call is often the first indication that one is present in the canopy. (Wikipedia, general species account)

Mature deciduous or mixed woodland with large old trees is the Eurasian Nuthatch's principal habitat, with oak especially favoured in parts of its range. Birds search trunks and branches for invertebrates and seeds and wedge hard food into bark crevices before hammering it open, the behaviour behind the English name. The breeding range stretches across temperate Eurasia from Britain to Japan. Most populations are resident, although young birds disperse and northern or eastern populations may move when conifer seed crops fail. (Wikipedia, general species account)