The Headfirst Acrobat | Meet the Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
#intothewildwithrufus #birding
The Nuthatch is one bird that’s fascinated me skyhigh for long! 😊
Even a couple of months ago, while in Dandeli, I was awestruck observing the bird do its gravity-defying acrobatics!
In short, I’ve never seen them do things the way ‘normal’ birds do!
The very word “Nuthatch” derives from “nut-hacker,” as they use their strong bills to repeatedly bash nuts wedged into cracks in the bark to “hatch” or expose the soft kernel inside.
And like the Malabar Giant Squirrels, the way the nuthatches climb trees is quite funny to watch. They move with such elegance and ease upwards, downwards, sideways and upside-down over trunks or branches – a rare marvel in the bird kingdom!
They’re called the Velvet-fronted Nuthatches as they sport a distinct, dense black patch of feathers in the area between the eyes and the bill that look remarkably like dark velvet.
So what makes this bird strikingly unique?
Well, unlike many other birds that rely heavily on their tails, the Velvet-fronted Nuthatch relies entirely on its powerfully strong feet, long toes, and curved claws, allowing it to easily climb straight down tree trunks headfirst – and it frequently hangs completely upside down on the undersides of horizontal branches to glean insects and spiders from crevices that other climbing birds miss!
Richard Grimmett et al, observe that the Velvet-fronted Nuthatch is found in the Himalayas, Indian hills, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
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| [Richard Grimmett et al... Birds of the Indian Subcontinent] |
Salim Ali’s huge anthology however, doesn’t give a dash for the hyphen! 😊
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| [Salim Ali & Ripley, Volume 9, Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan] |
Salim Ali cites this bird as the Velvetfronted Nuthatch (without the hyphen), mentioning it as a resident bird, widely distributed in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lankan Hills.
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