Description:

A medium-sized, relatively long-billed nuthatch. Very distinctive nuthatch, with black crown and nape, white face, lacking black eyestripe and throat with beady eye and whitish underparts with buffish wash becoming rufous on rear flanks and undertail-coverts. Juvenile has faint barring on underparts.

Distribution:

Common resident in Gilgit, Astore, Diamer and Ghizer districts of Gilgit-Baltistan. Prefers coniferous forest, especially fir and pine. Found in inner, colder mountain valleys in dry coniferous zone. Altitudinal range extends to 3600m near tree-line.

Behavior:

Forages both in upper canopy of tall trees, on trunk or small branches, and on underside of thick, lichen-draped branches in lower part of cedar trees; less frequently lower down on main trunk. Observed in summer to catch prey by flycatching. Few details of diet; insects, and conifer seeds (of various species).

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of White-cheeked Nuthatch in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of White-cheeked Nuthatch

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.