Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch - BirdForum Opus

Subspecies S. c. almorae male
Photo © by Rajiv Lather
Uttarakhand Himalayas, India

Sitta cinnamoventris

Identification

14cm (5½ in)

• Grey upperparts (no contrast to crown)
• Rufous belly and underparts
• White undertail-coverts with chestnut scalloping
• Black eyestripe
• Dark iris
• Long, blunt grey bill and grey legs

Distribution

Found in the Himalayas from Pakistan east to India, Nepal, Bhutan, southern China, Burma, northern Thailand, Laos and northern Vietnam.
Common in most of its range.

Taxonomy

Subspecies S. c. almorae female
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Sat Tal Forest, Alt. 5500 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, October-2018

Formerly considered conspecific with Burmese Nuthatch and Indian Nuthatch.

Forms a superspecies with Eurasian Nuthatch, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, Indian Nuthatch, Burmese Nuthatch and Kashmir Nuthatch.

Subspecies

There are 4 subspecies^[1]:

• S. c. almorae:

• Foothills of western Himalayas (Pakistan to eastern Nepal)

• 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:

• Southern Yunnan to northern Thailand, northern Vietnam, northern and central Laos

Open wing male subspecies S. c. almorae
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Sat Tal Forest, Alt. 5500 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, March-2018

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.

Movements

A resident species.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. 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
3. Avibase
4. Wikipedia
5. Wapedia
6. 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

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 22 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Chestnut-bellied_Nuthatch

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