White-cheeked Nuthatch - Sitta leucopsis

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Common Name : White-cheeked Nuthatch
Scientific Name : Sitta leucopsis (Gould, 1850)

Order : Passeriformes
Family : Sittidae
Taxonomic Group : Passeriformes - Sittidae ( Nuthatches )

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General Species Profile

Taxonomy

Clements Checklist of Birds of the World 6.4 December 2009 Updated

Common Name : White-cheeked Nuthatch
Scientific Name : Sitta leucopsis
Order : Passeriformes Family : Sittidae (Nuthatches)
Number of SubSpecies : 2

Taxon Category	Sub Species / Race	Range
subspecies	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	Himalayas (ne Afghanistan to nw India and nw Nepal)
subspecies	Sitta leucopsis przewalskii	W China (Qinghai to s Sichuan, sw Gansu, ne Tibet and Yunnan)

Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World 2006

3rd Edition, 2003. Revised and Corrected per Corrigenda to December 31, 2006

Common Name : White-cheeked Nuthatch
Scientific Name : Sitta leucopsis
Number of SubSpecies : 2

Sub Species / Race
Sitta leucopsis leucopsis
Sitta leucopsis przewalskii

IOC World Bird Names (version 2.2)

IOC Common Name : White-cheeked Nuthatch
IOC Scientific Name : Sitta leucopsis

Distribution :
Region : OR Range : w Himalayas
Order : PASSERIFORMES Family : Sittidae
Category : Nuthatches

A Synopsis of the Birds of India and Pakistan

SYNOPIS NO : 1832-1833

Scientific Name: Sitta leucopsis
Common Name: Whitecheeked Nuthatch

Birdlife International Checklist Ver 3 June 2010

Common Name : White-cheeked Nuthatch
Scientific Name : Sitta leucopsis(Gould, 1850)
Birdlife Synonym :

BirdLife Redlist Status Year 2010: LC
BirdLife Species FactSheet for White-cheeked Nuthatch ( Sitta leucopsis )

Taxonomy Treatment : R

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

IUCN Common Name (Eng) : White-cheeked Nuthatch
Scientific Name : Sitta leucopsis (Gould, 1850)
IUCN Redlist Species FactSheet for White-cheeked Nuthatch ( Sitta leucopsis )

Species : leucopsis
Genus : Sitta
Family : SittidaeOrder : Passeriformes

IUCN RedList Status : LC

IUCN RedList Criteria Version : 3.1
IUCN RedList Year Assessed : 2008
IUCN RedList Petitioned : N

Oriental Bird Club Checklist Draft Novemebr 2009

Family : SITTIDAE

Scientific Name : Sitta leucopsis
Common Name : White-cheeked Nuthatch

IOC Checklist Difference : Sitta przewalskii Przevalski's Nuthatch

Bibliography

Bibliography of White-cheeked Nuthatch ( Sitta leucopsis )
Number of Results found : 5

1. Krys Kazmierczak; Ber van Perlo , (2000), White-cheeked Nuthatch (Sitta leucopsis), A FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT; Yale University Press, : 280.

2. Salim Ali; S Dillon RipleyÂ , (1998), No. 1833. Whitecheeked Nuthatch (Sitta leucopsis przewalskii) Berezovski & Bianchi, Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan; Oxford University Press, New Delhi, Volume 9 (Robins to Wagtails ): 223.

3. Salim Ali; S Dillon RipleyÂ , (1998), No. 1832. Whitecheeked Nuthatch (Sitta leucopsis leucopsis ) Gould, Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan; Oxford University Press, New Delhi, Volume 9 (Robins to Wagtails ): 221.

4. Wunderlich K; , (1988), Zoothera wardii. Turdus unicolor. Turdus albicollis. Sitta leucopsis. Certhia nipalensis, Akademie Verlag Berlin, : .

5. Jamdar N; , (1987), An interesting feeding behaviour of the Whitecheeked Nuthatch (Sitta leucopsis), Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 84:2: 443.

Book Excerpts

The Birds of India - Vol - I (1862)

White-Cheeked Nuthatch (Sitta leucopsis)

249. Sitta leucopsis, Gould.

P. Z. S. 1849 - Horsf., Cat. 1050 - Gould, Birds of Asia, 1, pl. 10.

The White-cheeked Nuthatch.

Descr. - Crown of head and back of neck jet-black; all the upper surface deep blue-grey; primaries black, edged with grey ; central tail-feathers blue-grey ; lateral feathers black, tipped with blue-grey ; the two outer ones, on each side, with a small spot of white on the inner web near the tip; face, chin, throat, breast, and centre of the abdomen, white, the latter slightly washed with buff; flanks and under tail-coverts bright chesnut; bill black, with a blue-grey base ; legs grey.

Length 5 inches ; wing 3 1/8 tail 2 ; bill 7/8; tarsus 3/4.

This Nuthatch is from the North-western Himalayas, but appears very rare. It is, not improbably, the supposed White-headed Woodpecker noticed in p. 275.

Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds - Vol I (1889)

White-cheeked Nuthatch (Sitta leucopsis)

Sitta leucopsis, (Gould), Jerdon B. Ind. i, p. 385; Hume, Rough Draft N. & E. no. 249.

Captain Cock took the eggs of the White-cheeked Nuthatch late in May and early in June (1871) in Kashmir at Sonamurg.

Captain Wardlaw Ramsay says, writing of Afghanistan: "I observed it hanging about a nest-hole on the 21st May, but on returning to take the eggs some days later was unable to find the tree:" and he adds, "On the 21st of June I shot a young bird just fledged near the Peiwar Kotul."

The eggs of this species vary somewhat in size. In shape some are moderately elongated, some are somewhat broad ovals, and all are, more or less, compressed towards the smaller end, which, however, is obtuse and not at all pointed. The ground is white and has a slight gloss. The markings consist of small spots and minute specks, some eggs exhibiting only the latter. In all cases the markings are most dense towards the large end, where they generally form an irregular and ill-defined mottled cap or zone. In colour the markings are red and pale purple, the red varying from bright brickdust-red to brownish and even purplish red, and the purple being sometimes lilac and sometimes grey, and here and there in a single speck, almost black. In length the eggs vary from 0·67 to 0·75 inch, and in breadth from 0·5 to 0·55 inch.

The Fauna Of British India including Ceylon and Burma 1st Ed. Vol I (1889)

White-cheeked Nuthatch (Sitta leucopsis)

323. Sitta leucopsis.

The White-cheeked Nuthatch.

Sitta leucopsis, Gould, P. Z. S. 1849, p. 113; Horsf. & M. Cat. ii, p. 721; Jerd. B. I. i, p. 385 ; Stoliczka, J. A. S. B. xxxvii, pt. ii, p. 26; Hume, N. & E. p. 161; Hume 8; Hend. Lah. to Yark. p. 181; Hume, Cat. no. 249; Gadow, Cat. B. M. viii, p. 352; Oates in Hume's N. & E. 2nd ed. i, p. 196.

Coloration. Forehead, crown, nape, and a part of the sides of the neck glossy black ; upper plumage and the visible portions of the closed wings slaty blue; middle pair of tail-feathers slaty blue, the others black, tipped with slaty blue, and the three outer pairs with a subterminal patch of white on the inner web, the outermost pair also with a band of white on the outer web; sides of the head and lower plumage white, more or less tinged with pale fulvous ; flanks and under tail-coverts rich chestnut. The female is similar to the male.

Iris brown; upper mandible and margins and point of the lower black; remainder of lower mandible whitish-horny ; legs brownish green (Wardlaw Ramsay).

Length about 5.5; tail 1.7; wing 3; tarsus .7; bill from gape

Distribution. Throughout the N. W. Himalayas from Mussooree and Derali to Hazara and the whole of Kashmir at considerable elevations. Brooks says that this Nuthatch is common above Derali near the snows in the pine-forests ; Biddulph remarks that it is a permanent resident in Gilgit, and breeds at 10,000 feet; and Scully informs us that he obtained this bird in Gilgit only from the beginning of April to September, and that it is never seen in the lower parts of the valley away from pine-forests. It extends into Afghanistan, where Wardlaw Ramsay found it on the Safed-Koh range above 7000 feet, breeding.

Habits, &c. Stoliczka, who found this bird to be common near Chini, observes that it feeds chiefly on the seeds of Pinus yerardiana, and that its voice is a loud, uniform, melancholy call, uttered while it is busily engaged in securing a pine-seed in the bark of a large tree.

Capt. Cock took the eggs of this bird at Sonamurg in Kashmir late in May and early in June. The eggs are coloured normally and measure about .7 by .55.

The Avifauna of British India and its dependencies - Vol II (1890)

White-faced Nuthatch (Sitta leucopsis)

721. Sitta leucopsis, Gould,

P. Z. S. 1849, p. 113; id., B. Asia i. pl. 10; Jerd., B. Ind. i. p. 585; Jerd., Ibis, 1872, p. 20; Scully, Ibis, 1881, p. 655. -

The White-faced Nuthatch.

Above dark slaty blue ; crown of the head and part of the sides of the neck glossy black ; quills brown; central pair of tail feathers like the back, the others black with greyish tips and with white subterminal patches to the inner web; under wing coverts sooty black; flanks, abdomen and under tail coverts rich chestnut red; sides of the head, orbital region and the whole of the foreneck and breast -white. Bill dark horny; lighter at base of mandible ; legs dark lead colour.

Length. - 5 inches; wing 3 ; tail 1.7; tarsus 0.75 ; culmen 0.8.

Hab. - N.W. Himalayas and Cashmere (Gilgit 10,000 feet, and Astor 10,000 feet).

The Fauna Of British India including Ceylon and Burma 2nd Ed. Vol I (1922)

White-Cheeked Nuthatch (Sitta leucopsis leucopsis)

(117) Sitta leucopsis leucopsis.

The White-cheeked Nuthatch.

Sitta leucopsis Gould, P. Z. S., 1840, p. 113 (Himalayas); Blanf, & Oates, i, p. 306.

Vernacular names. None recorded.

Description. Forehead, crown, nape and a part of the sides of neck glossy black; upper plumage, closed wings and central tail-feathers slaty-blue; other tail-feathers black, tipped with slaty-blue, the three outer pairs with a subterminal white patch on the inner web and the outermost pair with a white band also on the outer web; sides of the head and lower plumage white, more or less tinged with pale fulvous; flanks and under tail-coverts rich chestnut. Sexes alike.

Colours of soft parts. Iris hazel-brown to dark brown; bill black, the base of the lower mandible whitish-horny or pale grey-horny; legs yellowish- or greenish-brown.

Measurements. Total length about 140 mm.; wing 74 to 79 mm.; tail about 42 mm.; tarsus about 18 mm.; culmen about 15 mm.

Distribution. The whole of the North-West Himalayas from the Baluchistan boundaries where well forested, Afghanistan, N. Kashmir to the hills next the pldns as far as the pines continue and as far east as Garhwal.

Nidification. This Nuthatch breeds freely throughout its range. Rattray took many nests in the Murree Hills in June, and says that a favourite site is high up in a tall fir-tree that has been struck by lightning and cracked down the centre, a convenient place in this crack being selected for the nest. They lay from four to eight eggs, which are just like those of the various forms of Chestnut-bellied Nuthatches and measure on an average for 50 eggs about 18.2 x 13.7 mm. The nest is difficult to find, both from its position and the cautious habits of the birds.

Habits. This is a bird of high elevations, being found principally between 7,000 and 12,000 feet and, according to Rattray and others, seldom below 8,000 feet. Its range, however, seems to be decided by the forest growth and it will not frequently be found outside the regions of firs, pines and other coniferous trees. Stoliczka says that it feeds principally on the seeds of Pinus girardiana and that its voice is a loud, uniform, melancholy call, uttered while it is busily engaged in securing a pine-seed in the bark of a large tree. Whitehead likens its call to the French word "pain," and he and Davidson both say that the monotonous, wailing cry is to be heard in the forests all day long.

The Fauna Of British India including Ceylon and Burma 2nd Ed. Vol VII (1930)

Sitta leucopsis leucopsis

Sitta leucopsis Gould.

Sitta leucopsis leucopsis Gould.

Sitta leucopsis Gould, Birds of Asia. pt. i, vol. ii, pl. 46, Jan. 1850 : Himalayas; Gould, P. Z. S., 1849, p. 113, after Jan. 1850.

Sitta castanilia Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Av., i, p. 227, 1850: as synonym.

Museum Collections

Number of Museum Specimen Records Found : 33 for Sitta leucopsis

No.	Museum	Species	Collection Deatils	Collector	Date of Collection	Record	Locality	GBIF Portal Link
1	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 306557		1930-08-19 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Tarlok Nath Chamba Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
2	Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University	Sitta leucopsis	MCZ BIRDS 177048	Koelz, W.	1933-10-26 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Jangi, Kunawar Rampur-Bushahr India Kinnaur	Link
3	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 235429		1936-07-04 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Kukti Chamba Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
4	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 235418		1936-10-19 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Tsokang Nulla Lahul Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
5	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 235419		1936-10-19 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Tsokang Nulla Lahul Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
6	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 235420		1936-10-19 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Tsokang Nulla Lahul Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
7	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 235423		1936-10-20 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Tsokang Nulla Lahul Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
8	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 235421		1936-10-21 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Tsokang Nulla Lahul Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
9	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 235422		1936-10-21 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Tsokang Nulla Lahul Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
10	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 235424		1936-10-21 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Tsakang Nulla Lahul Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
11	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 235426		1936-10-24 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Muling Lahul Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
12	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 235425		1936-10-26 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Rahla, Kulu Kangra Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
13	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 235427		1936-11-13 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Bandrale, above, Kulu Kangra Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
14	Field Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	FMNH Birds 235428		1936-11-13 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Bandrale, Kulu Kangra Himachal Pradesh India Southern Asia	Link
15	Yale University Peabody Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	YPM ORN ORN.015745	T. Mattos	1951-02-03 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Kumaon Uttar Pradesh State India Southern Asia	Link
16	Yale University Peabody Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	YPM ORN ORN.077609	R. A. Paynter	1958-10-18 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Kalam Kalam District North-West Frontier Province Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
17	Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University	Sitta leucopsis	MCZ BIRDS 263248	Paynter, R. A., Jr.	1958-10-19 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Kalam Swat Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
18	Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University	Sitta leucopsis	MCZ BIRDS 263251	Paynter, R. A., Jr.	1958-10-27 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Kalam Swat Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
19	Yale University Peabody Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	YPM ORN ORN.077610	R. A. Paynter	1958-10-30 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Kalam Kalam District North-West Frontier Province Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
20	Yale University Peabody Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	YPM ORN ORN.077608	R. A. Paynter	1958-11-16 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Parachinar Kurram District North-West Frontier Province Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
21	Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University	Sitta leucopsis	MCZ BIRDS 263247	Paynter, R. A., Jr.	1958-11-17 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Chappri Patti, 6 mi N of Parachinar Kurram Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
22	Yale University Peabody Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	YPM ORN ORN.077603	R. A. Paynter	1958-11-30 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Kaghan Valley Hazara District Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
23	Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University	Sitta leucopsis	MCZ BIRDS 263244	Paynter, R. A., Jr.	1958-11-30 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Shogran, Kaghan Valley Hazara Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
24	Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University	Sitta leucopsis	MCZ BIRDS 263246	Paynter, R. A., Jr.	1958-11-30 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Shogran, Kaghan Valley Hazara Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
25	Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University	Sitta leucopsis	MCZ BIRDS 329475	Paynter, R. A., Jr.	1958-12-01 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Shogran, Kaghan Valley Hazara Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
26	Yale University Peabody Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	YPM ORN ORN.077605	R. A. Paynter	1958-12-02 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Kaghan Valley Hazara District Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
27	Yale University Peabody Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	YPM ORN ORN.077606	R. A. Paynter	1958-12-02 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Kaghan Valley Hazara District Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
28	Yale University Peabody Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	YPM ORN ORN.077607	R. A. Paynter	1958-12-02 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Kaghan Valley Hazara District Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
29	Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University	Sitta leucopsis	MCZ BIRDS 263249	Paynter, R. A., Jr.	1958-12-02 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Shogran, Kaghan Valley Hazara Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
30	Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University	Sitta leucopsis	MCZ BIRDS 263245	Paynter, R. A., Jr.	1958-12-03 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Shogran, Kaghan Valley Hazara Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
31	Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University	Sitta leucopsis	MCZ BIRDS 329474	Paynter, R. A., Jr.	1958-12-04 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Shogran, Kaghan Valley Hazara Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
32	Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University	Sitta leucopsis	MCZ BIRDS 263250	Paynter, R. A., Jr.	1958-12-05 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Shogran, Kaghan Valley Hazara Pakistan Southern Asia	Link
33	Yale University Peabody Museum	Sitta leucopsis leucopsis	YPM ORN ORN.077604	R. A. Paynter	1958-12-06 00:00:00.0	Specimen	Kaghan Valley Hazara District Pakistan Southern Asia	Link

Biodiversity occurrence data provided by: (Accessed through GBIF Data Portal, 2009-08-06)

Data Providers

Field Museum ( 13 Records )

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University ( 11 Records )

Yale University Peabody Museum ( 9 Records )

Sound/Call

2 calls found for Sitta leucopsis

Remarks: single note call
Call Type: calls (A)

Remarks: Ssp: przewalskii. A potential split (see Rasmusson & Anderton's 'South Asia' field guide).
Call Type: call (no score)

The Bird Calls are embedded through xeno-canto.org See Terms of Use xeno-canto.org

Links

Cite this website along with its URL as:
Anonymous. 2013 Sitta leucopsis - Gould, 1850 (White-cheeked Nuthatch ) in Deomurari, A.N. (Compiler), 2010. AVIS-IBIS (Avian Information System - Indian BioDiversity Information System) v. 1.0. Foundation For Ecological Security, India retrieved on 05/21/2013

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