Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch

Ssp. almorae : Male
Photo by Rajiv Lather
Uttaranchal, India

Sitta cinnamoventris

Identification

13cm

• Grey upperparts (no contrast to crown)
• Rufous belly and underparts
• White undertail-coverts with chestnut scallops
• 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

Ssp. almorae : Female
Photo by Alok Tewari
Dwarahat, Dist. Almora, Alt. 5200 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, April-2017

Formerly considered conspecific with Burmese Nuthatch and Indian 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

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

1. 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
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 20 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Chestnut-bellied_Nuthatch

External Links

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