Chestnut Bellied Nuthatch

MALE

FEMALE

The Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch (Sitta cinnamoventris) is a species of bird in the Sittidae family. It is found in the Indian Subcontinent and eastwards towardsSoutheast Asia. It is seen in Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Tibet.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

This species has been split by Rasmussen and Anderton (2005) from:^[1] the Indian Nuthatch. The Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch is very similar to the previous but with a heavier bill, crown and mantle of the same shade. The wing and tail markings show contrasting markings; silvery-edge to primaries, blackish inner webs to tertials and tail with large white spots in the tail. White on ear coverts does not extend into chin unlike in the former. Race almorae of Nepal and NW Himalayas has paler underparts; race koelzi of the eastern Himalayas has the female darker than in other races. Resident from Murree Hills to the Uttaranchal foothills extending to the Assam Valley, Arunachal Pradesh into the Lushai Hills.