“Chip-chip-chip, sit-sit-sit!”

Translation: “Oh you found me, looking for a fight buddy?”

Some birds can be very hard to find. But the Velvet-fronted Nuthatch? Not at all! In fact you can find this beautiful violet-blue and beige bird easily because it is noisy, loud, proud and not at all fussed about who sees it. It’s usually found trilling away on a tree - either on a hunt, protecting its nest of a half a dozen eggs or just generally loving life! That is until… it senses someone encroaching on its territory. Woodpecker, owl or eagle, the Nuthatch doesn’t care and has no problems punching above its weight, so expect things to get even noisier when an unwelcome guest turns up!

Fun Facts

This king of survival has it all figured out. Need a tree hole or crevice for a nest? Use one that another bird carved out! Insects and spiders hiding out under tree bark? No problem at all! Using its strong, curved claws, the Nuthatch struts down the tree head-first and roots them out. They’re hiding in the underside of branches, you say? Hah! Gravity is a conspiracy theory, this bird retorts and just ambles along upside down on its hunt… and all the while, it lets everyone know it's coming for them, with a chip-chip-chip and a sit-sit-sit!

Story of the Photo

The central highlands of Sri Lanka is a great place to experience unique flora and rare fauna. Whilst camping with Explorer by Mahoora within the Horton Plains National Park, Dilum was able to spend some time getting up close to a lot of birds and animals, including this Nuthatch that seemed to be sizing him up for a fight!