its food among the smallest branches in the tops of large trees, but also in other levels of vegetation. It can forage in bushes, and even feed on the ground. It feeds mainly on insects during the breeding season, but when these become scarce, in autumn and winter, it consumes seeds of pine and other conifers. Insects are gleaned along branches, or caught in flight, and conifer seeds are extracted from cone scales with the bill, before being wedged into a crack in the bark and hammered open. The Krüper's nuthatch also makes food caches that can be used when moisture closes the pine cones, making their seeds inaccessible, and the existence of these larders may explain the bird's territoriality, even outside the breeding season. Breeding The breeding season takes place from mid-March to mid-May in Turkey, the date depending on the location and altitude. In southern Anatolia, egg laying begins at the end of March; in the Caucasus, it takes place in April–May. There is only one brood per year. The nest is often placed in the hole of a conifer and far from the ground. A study conducted out over four breeding seasons in southern Turkey showed that nests were built to a height of nearly , with extremes between and , and were often facing east. The Krüper's nuthatch usually uses already existing cavities that have been simply cleaned out, especially by the female, but can dig its own hole in dead trunks and branches. Eggs have been observed on the top of a stump or on a pile of twigs at the fork of a tree, but these unusual nesting sites may only be used when cavities are unavailable. Unlike other nuthatches, the Krüper's nuthatch does not build the entrance to its hole with mud or resin. The bottom of the nest is lined with bark chips, rotten wood and pine cone scales, covered with moss, hair, wool, and feathers. The female does most of the work and lays four to seven eggs, usually five or six, measuring , creamy white with small red or purplish spots and speckles, mostly concentrated at the larger end. Incubation lasts 12 to 17 days and is performed by the female alone, fed by the male. The female also incubates the young, but both parents take part in the feeding. The young are mainly fed on beetles, insect larvae, lepidoptera,