Indian nuthatch
Sitta castanea R. P. Lesson, 1830
The Indian nuthatch (Sitta castanea) is a species in the family Sittidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 19.2 g to 20.2 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the Indian nuthatch
- Weight
- 19.2 g – 20.2 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 11.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.7 – 4.9src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the Indian nuthatch live?
Not recorded
What is the Indian nuthatch?
The Indian nuthatch (Sitta castanea) is a species of bird in the family Sittidae. It is found in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
This species has been split by Rasmussen and Anderton (2005) from the chestnut-bellied nuthatch. The Indian nuthatch (including the older prateri of the Eastern Ghats) is found south of the Ganges river. It is the only grey-backed, rufous-bellied nuthatch in the peninsula. Similar to the chestnut-bellied nuthatch but has a smaller bill and a frosty crown that is paler than the mantle. The wing and tail patterns lack contrast and has grey centres to the chestnut undertail coverts. Resident in the Terai and Gangetic plain extending into central India, the Eastern Ghats, Sunderbans and a disjunct population in the Western Ghats. Breeds from February to July. Different in vocalization from the chestnut-bellied nuthatch.
From the Wikipedia article “Indian nuthatch” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indian_nuthatch&oldid=1381649517), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the Indian nuthatch endangered?
The Indian nuthatch is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the Indian nuthatch classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familySittidae
- genusSitta
- SpeciesSitta castanea R. P. Lesson, 1830
Synonyms Sitta castanea castanea, Sitta castanea prateri, Sitta castaneoventris
Other names and names in other languages (37)
- Chestnut-bellied nuthatchEnglish
- Chestnut-bellied nuthatchEnglish
- Индийска зидаркаBulgarian
- pica-soques de l'ÍndiaCatalan
- brhlík kaštanovobřichýCzech
- delor cnau bronwinauWelsh
- Kastanjebuget SpætmejseDanish
- ZimtkleiberGerman
- KastanienkleiberGerman
- hindia sitoEsperanto
- Trepador indioSpanish
- mango-puukoristajaEstonian
- aasiannakkeliFinnish
- Sittelle indienneFrench
- Sittelle à ventre marronFrench
- કથ્થાઇ પેટ થડચડGujarati
- fahéjszínű csuszkaHungarian
- Picchio muratore panciacastanaItalian
- チャバラゴジュウカラJapanese
- kaštoninis bukutisLithuanian
- bērais dzilnītisLatvian
- തമ്രോദരൻ ഗൌളിക്കിളിMalayalam
- ငှက်ပြာခြောက်Burmese
- Bruine BoomkleverDutch
- kastanjespettmeisNorwegian
- kowalik kasztanowatyPolish
- trepadeira-indianaPortuguese
- Каштановогрудый поползеньRussian
- brhlík gaštanovýSlovak
- Indijski brgljezSerbian
- kastanjenötväckaSwedish
- Hint SıvacısıTurkish
- повзик каштановийUkrainian
- Trèo cây Ấn ĐộVietnamese
- 印度䴓Chinese
- 栗腹鳾Chinese
- 栗腹Chinese
Relatives of the Indian nuthatch
Other species in the same genus Sitta.

Eurasian nuthatch
Sitta europaea

Western rock nuthatch
Sitta neumayer

Velvet-fronted nuthatch
Sitta frontalis

Eastern rock nuthatch
Sitta tephronota

Corsican nuthatch
Sitta whiteheadi

Red-breasted nuthatch
Sitta canadensis
CompareIndian nuthatch vs Eurasian nuthatchIndian nuthatch vs Western rock nuthatchIndian nuthatch vs Velvet-fronted nuthatchIndian nuthatch vs Eastern rock nuthatch
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the Indian nuthatch?
An adult Indian nuthatch weighs 19.2 g – 20.2 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the Indian nuthatch endangered?
The Indian nuthatch is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the Indian nuthatch?
The Indian nuthatch (Sitta castanea) belongs to the family Sittidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Indian nuthatch (Sitta castanea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-nuthatch
“Indian nuthatch (Sitta castanea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-nuthatch.
@misc{indian_nuthatch_2026,
title = {Indian nuthatch (Sitta castanea)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-nuthatch},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}