Chestnut-vented Nuthatch

How to identify

Field marks

1. Plain blue-gray upperparts with a prominent black stripe on the lores
2. Gray to buff underparts with brick-red flanks
3. Undertail-coverts patterned red and white, giving a scaled appearance

Male, female and young

Sexes differ little. The male’s rear flanks are deep brick-red, darker than the undertail-coverts; the female’s rear flanks are rusty, matching the undertail-coverts, and its underparts are duller. Juveniles are more buff than adults in worn plumage.

Voice

Calls are varied, sometimes resembling the alarm call of Eurasian Wren. The song is monotonous and stereotyped, like a series of crackles, often “chichichichi”.

Similar species

Eurasian Nuthatch

Some subspecies of the two occur together in Sichuan and Fujian; some females of Eurasian Nuthatch are hard to distinguish from Chestnut-vented Nuthatch in fresh plumage. Chestnut-vented Nuthatch has grayer underparts, lacks whitish cheeks and also lacks the “dwip” vocalization.

Yunnan Nuthatch

Yunnan Nuthatch is smaller, with a thin white supercilium and plain pale buff underparts, without reddish-brown on the flanks.

White-tailed Nuthatch

White-tailed Nuthatch has white spots on the central tail feathers and more orange underparts; its flanks are not brick-red, and it has no white patches on the undertail.

Where and when it's recorded

Chestnut-vented Nuthatch has been recorded at 170 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 5 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Doi Pha Hom Pok NP – Doi Lang (W), AKA Doi San JuThailand1,139 records
2. Baihualing [General Area]China548 records
3. Doi Pha Hom Pok NP – Doi AngkhangThailand490 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ThailandChinaVietnamMyanmar (Burma)Laos

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

Questions