IDENTIFICATION

VOCALISATIONS

A vocal noisy species, often in chattering pairs.

DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT PREFERENCE 

As befits its habits, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch is restricted to forest, with its distribution centred on the Tai Mo Shan massif, extending west in the central New Territories as far as Tai Lam Chung Reservoir and in the northwest to Tai Tong Country Park, while in the east it occurs in suitable habitat from Nam Chung in the north to Sai Kung in the south. Though it favours larger trees, it is not confined to the interior of forest tracts and is frequently found on the edge of woodlands, the fringes of villages and even, on occasion, in new town parks.

Its status on HK Island is unclear. It was first recorded on the Peak and in nearby Aberdeen Country Park between January and September 1992, but not again until one was seen at Mount Davis on 21 April 2013. A handful of further records in the west of HK Island in subsequent years, including at Lung Fu Shan in early 2024 (eBird 2024), suggest that a population may exist there, though it is uncertain whether this has persisted since 1992 or represents individuals dispersing from the New Terrritories. Perhaps the first of these explanations is more likely as there are no substantiated observations from the mainland New Territories south of the Kowloon Hills or from any of the other islands.

The peak count from a single site is of 20 individuals at Tai Po Kau on 4 January 2004. That this peak count is from a number of years ago is probably not of significance; counts of the number of individuals observed are not a very useful indicator of population size in non-flocking forest passerines, and almost invariably reflect observer effort unless replicated along a fixed transect.

OCCURRENCE

The early history of Velvet-fronted Nuthatch in HK was documented by Leven (1993) and Carey et al. (2001). It was first observed at Tai Po Kau on 15 April 1989 and up to four birds were regularly noted there by November of that year, with breeding probably taking place in 1990. As was detailed by Carey et al. (2001), by the end of the century it appeared to be established in the central New Territories as far west as Shing Mun, but the population was still centred on Tai Po Kau, with the only reports from further afield comprising the observations on HK Island discussed above and a single sighting at Luk Keng in the northeast New Territories on 29 March 1997.

Subsequent spread was rather slow, with the increase from 0.4% of Atlas squares during the first (1993-96) breeding atlas to 0.8% of squares in the first (2001-05) winter atlas accounted for by infilling in the core range. Indeed, it was not until 2011 when it was recorded at Lau Shui Heung, and 2012 when it was also noted at Ho Pui and Fung Yuen, that there was any indication of its spreading into the northeast New Territories, whilst in 2014 it was first recorded in the southeast New Territories at Pak Sha O. A slow but steady increase in range since then is reflected in its being recorded from 2.2% of squares in the second (2016-19) breeding atlas, and 3.7% of squares in the second winter atlas surveys respectively.

Leven (1993) speculated that a record from Ding Hu Shan in 1992 might have been indicative of a natural spread from Guangxi into Guangdong, but this proved to be an isolated occurrence, and Carey et al. (2001) were probably correct in ascribing this record to an ex-captive individual close to a Buddhist Temple. Similarily, whilst Velvet-fronted Nuthatch might appear to be an unlikely species to be offered for sale as a cagebird, the HK population is indubitably derived from a captive source. However, whilst it is clear that the Velvet-fronted Nuthatches in HK did not spread from a native population in Guangdong, the latter province has now been colonised from HK, with a population becoming established in the hills and forests of east Shenzhen. In this area it appears to have first been recorded from Wutongshan on 19 August 2007, and it now occurs as far north and east as Yuanshan Scenic Area, about 15km north-northeast of Sha Tau Kok (eBird 2024).

BEHAVIOUR, FORAGING & DIET

Velvet-fronted Nuthatches are usually found as pairs and family parties, and readily join mixed flocks of of tits, warblers, white-eyes and other babblers. Birds in flocks are often noisy, indeed their far-carrying calls are often a useful clue to the finding of such flocks. Often confiding and approachable, they are usually observed foraging along the trunks and larger branches of trees, perhaps favouring gnarled and moss-covered trunks, but they also forage on bamboos and have regularly been observed foraging on bamboo scaffolding. They are assumed to be insectivorous, as they are elsewhere in their range (Salim Ali and Ripley 1998), but there are no observations of prey items in HK.

BREEDING

Like other members of its family, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch nests in tree holes. Some nuthatch species excavate their own or enlarge natural cavities, and some also narrow the entrance to existing cavities as an anti-predator measure (Cramp and Perrins 1993); both these construction activities have been noted in this species (Salim Ali and Ripley 1998). However, whilst there are a number of observations from HK of Velvet-fronted Nuthatches entering nest holes, few refer to either excavation or other activities associated with the holes. Observations of nesting birds include investigation of nest holes from 1 March, excavating a hole in a dead tree in July (Barretto and Barretto 2022), entering nest holes with nest materials (including moss and, on two occasions, dog hair) from 16 March to 17 April and feeding of young between 10 May and 16 July; two or three appears to be the typical brood size, and these have been observed from April to August (Barretto and Barretto 2022). These dates suggest the Velvet-fronted Nuthatch may be double-brooded in HK.

RANGE & SYSTEMATICS

The native range of Velvet-fronted Nuthatch extends from the western Himalayas and much of India south through all of Southeast Asia and the Greater Sundas. In China it only occurs in south Yunnan and southwest Guangxi (west of Nanning). The only non-native population appears to be that in HK and adjacent east Shenzhen.

There are five races; the nominate occupies most of the range including China, while the other four races are found in the Malay Peninsula and the Greater Sundas; thus it seems most likely that birds in HK are of the nominate race.

CONSERVATION STATUS

IUCN: Least Concern. Population trend decreasing.