Wildlifeof Vietnam
Beautiful Nuthatch
Tits, Nuthatches & Treecreepers
Photo: (c) Tristan Jobin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Sitta formosa
Rare visitor: recorded only occasionally in this country
Basic stats
Diet
Small insects and larvae from trunks and epiphyte-covered branches
Habitat
Montane forest from about 950m to nearly 2,300m, down to around 300m in winter; nests in a hole of an oak, rhododendron or other large tree
Range
Bhutan, and the Indian states of Sikkim, Meghalaya, Assam, southern Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland
Clutch size
Typically 4–6 eggs
Size
16.5cm
The beautiful nuthatch is a large nuthatch, 16.5cm long, with dramatic colours: black and azure upperparts streaked with white and pale blue on the head and lined with the same colours on the wings, and orange underparts. The eyebrow and throat are white and buff, and the eye has an irregular dark stripe. The sexes are alike, and it is large compared with other nuthatches (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is present in Bhutan and north-east India, and forages alone, in pairs or in small groups of four or five, though 21 individuals were once seen in one tree in Bhutan. It feeds on small insects and larvae from trunks and epiphyte-covered branches. Breeding is from April to May, in a hole in an oak, rhododendron or other large tree, with a nest of plant material and fur and typically four to six eggs. Its song is described as low and sweet in tone.
Quick answers
- What does the Beautiful Nuthatch eat?
- Small insects and larvae from trunks and epiphyte-covered branches
- What habitat does the Beautiful Nuthatch live in?
- Montane forest from about 950m to nearly 2,300m, down to around 300m in winter; nests in a hole of an oak, rhododendron or other large tree
- Where is the Beautiful Nuthatch found?
- Bhutan, and the Indian states of Sikkim, Meghalaya, Assam, southern Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland
- How many eggs does the Beautiful Nuthatch lay?
- Typically 4–6 eggs
- How big is the Beautiful Nuthatch?
- 16.5cm