Algerian nuthatch

Algerian nuthatch
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Sittidae
Genus:	Sitta
Species:	S. ledanti
Binomial name
Sitta ledanti Vielliard, 1976
Distribution map showing the forests used by the nuthatch in red

The Algerian nuthatch or Kabyle 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-grey. 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 Kabyle nuthatch is the only bird species endemic to Algeria, where it now inhabits only certain coniferous and broadleaf forests in the Kabylia region 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 and named it "la Sittelle Kabyle" (the Kabyle nuthatch); 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.