Sitta magna

Giant Nuthatch, also known as Giant Nuthatch in English, is a small songbird with two subspecies.

The giant nuthatch has the same living habits as the general nuthatch, and is more active. It is good at climbing up the tree trunk for a short distance, and is also good at climbing down the tree trunk headfirst, or on the horizontal branches. They can also crawl in all directions and forage for insects in the cracks of the bark. It is a relatively common bird, often mixed with common nuthatch and Yunnan nuthatch, calling and climbing on tree trunks to find food, rarely stopping. Most of them are active at the top of tree trunks.

The main food of giant nuthatch is insects, including ants and coleoptera insects, followed by butterflies, moths and other insects and larvae, and occasionally eats plant fruits.

Like most other nuthatch birds, giant nuthatch nests are mostly built in natural tree holes, tree trunk gaps and cracks, and also use the abandoned tree holes of woodpeckers as nests. The entrance of the hole is often smeared with mud and is very round and small, and the hole is padded with fine grass, moss or feathers. Each nest lays 4-6 eggs. The adult parents take turns to incubate the eggs. The male bird participates in the brooding and forages and feeds the chicks together with the female bird. Young birds leave the nest at around 25 days old.

Based on an assessment of recent records and surveys of the giant nuthatch by BirdLife International (2001), the population of the giant nuthatch was previously estimated at 2,500-9,999 mature individuals. However, evidence suggests that the population may be smaller than this. The population in Yunnan, which accounts for most records, is estimated to have 800-2,000 mature individuals, with only 6-50 mature individuals in the largest subpopulation (Han Lianxian 2012). Therefore, the global population of 1,000-2,499 adults is equivalent to approximately 1,500-3,800 individuals.

Most records of the giant nuthatch are from Yunnan, China, with only two localities in Myanmar, both of which were considered extinct in the past 20 years, and nine known areas in Thailand where numbers are declining. A comprehensive survey in Shan State, Myanmar, failed to locate the species (2012). Pump searches in Xayaboury Province, Laos, also failed to locate the species or more suitable habitat (J. W. Duckworth in litt. 2013). Surveys in Yunnan, China found low densities of the species in most areas of mature pine forest visited (Anon. 2007), with no signs of an increase in numbers (Lianxian Han in litt. 2013). Field surveys in Yunnan, China estimated 800-2,000 mature individuals in the province (Han Lianxian in litt. 2013), which suggests a global population of between 1,000-2,499 mature individuals. Overall, numbers are probably declining and becoming increasingly fragmented.

The Giant Nuthatch is suspected to be experiencing a moderate and ongoing population decline due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation across the species range. The Giant Nuthatch has been listed as Vulnerable because there is evidence that its population is smaller than previously thought. The decline is inferred due to the loss and degradation of conifer and mixed forest habitats to logging, fuelwood collection, cultivation, and fire.

Pine forest habitats are being destroyed or degraded through commercial logging and extractive burning. In Yunnan, China, the collection of pine resin and balsa bark is known to cause widespread mortality of mature trees, despite large-scale logging being prohibited in many forest areas (Anon. 2007). Fragmentation of pine forests is also increasingly being replaced by eucalyptus plantations (B. Han in litt. 2013). Reform of China’s forest land ownership laws is expected to increase threats to mature forests (B. Han in litt. 2013). Transplantation has already resulted in the clearing of large tracts of suitable habitat and uncontrolled burning poses a significant threat, as conifers are more flammable than other forest trees. Older pine trees are particularly susceptible to frequent burning.

Giant nuthatch has also been documented being sold in wildlife markets, although this is unlikely to pose a significant threat.

A recent four-year drought in Yunnan, China, is thought to have had a negative impact on the species’ reproductive success (B. Han in litt. 2013).

Conservation efforts are ongoing and the species has been recorded in numerous protected areas, including various nature reserves in China (Han Lianxian in litt. 2012), as well as Doi Chang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary and Doi Khun Tan National Park in Thailand.

Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ver 3.1:

2012 - Vulnerable (VU).

2013 - Endangered (EN).

2016 - Endangered (EN).

Listed in China's "National Key Protected Wildlife List" (February 5, 2021) Level 2.

Protect wildlife and eliminate game.

Maintaining ecological balance is everyone's responsibility!

The giant nuthatch is endemic to mountainous areas of southwestern China, east-central Myanmar, and northwestern Thailand. Most records are from Yunnan, China.
It inhabits mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests dominated by conifers, and also occurs in evergreen broad-leaved forests. It is almost entirely restricted to areas with large, mature Pinus sylvatica, often with oak-dominated woods of the genus Quercus. It lives at altitudes of 1000-2500 m. In winter in China, it inhabits mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests at about 1400 m in the Ailao Mountains of Yunnan Province.

Adult male giant nuthatch: The top of the head, nape and neck are bright slate gray; there is a wide bright black stripe from the base of the bill to the sides of the back of the neck; the shoulder feathers and upper back are slate blue-gray, and the waist to the upper tail coverts are lighter; the central tail feathers are darker than the back feathers; the inner vane of the second pair of tail feathers is black, and the outer vanes and feather tips are the same color as the central tail feathers; the two pairs of black feathers outside, the inner vane has a white tip, and the feather edges and feather tips of the outer vanes are gray; the base of the outer tail feathers is black, and the inner vane is gray-black Feather tips and large white subterminal spots, most of the outer vane tip is gray-black, the middle part is white, or only the outer edge where the base connects to black is white; wings are black-brown, and the surface of the wings is slightly the same as the back; cheeks,