- Sitta castanea
Includes: Indian Nuthatch and Burmese Nuthatch
Identification
13cm
- Grey upperparts
- Rufous belly and underparts
- Black eyestripe
- Dark iris
- Grey bill and legs
- Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch (cinnamoventris group) with longer, heavier and blunter bill, white undertail-coverts with chestnut scallops and no contrast between crown and upperparts
- Burmese Nuthatch (neglecta) with short black eyestripe, fine chestnut scallops on undertail-coverts
Distribution
Found in the Himalayas from Pakistan east to India, Nepal, Bhutan, in northern and central India (locally in the south), southern China, Burma, northern and western Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and southern Vietnam.
Common in most of its range.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 6 subspecies[1], split by some authorites into three species:
- Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch - Sitta cinnamoventris
- S. c. almorae:
- S. c. cinnamoventris:
- Eastern Himalayas (eastern Nepal to north-western Yunnan and Arunachal Pradesh)
- S. c. koelzi:
- South-eastern Arunachal Pradesh to Assam and adjacent north-western Myanmar
- S. c. tonkinensis:
- Indian Nuthatch - Sitta castanea
- S. c. castanea:
- Foothills of northern and central India (Western Ghats)
- Burmese Nuthatch (or Neglected Nuthatch) - Sitta neglecta
- S. c. neglecta:
- Myanmar to south-eastern Yunnan, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, southern Vietnam
An additional subspecies prateri is not recognised by all authorities[2].
Forms a superspecies with Eurasian Nuthatch, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch and Kashmir Nuthatch.
Habitat
Moist lowland and hill forests.
Behaviour
Breeding
It nests in a hole or crevice.
Diet
The diet includes insects, nuts and seeds.
Forages singly, in pairs or small groups.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2008. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 13: Penduline-tits to Shrikes. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553453
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
- Wapedia
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2008. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 13: Penduline-tits to Shrikes. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553453
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Chestnut-bellied_Nuthatch
