Passeriformes / Corvidae / Nucifraga
Southern Nutcracker
Nucifraga hemispila · 星鸦
Introduction
A passerine bird in the crow family Corvidae, formerly considered conspecific with the northern and Kashmir nutcrackers. It inhabits pine forests in the Himalayas and parts of Asia, where it caches seeds of white pines.
Description
Approximately 33 cm long. Largely brown with limited white spotting on the face and upper breast. The lower breast and back are plain brown. Wings are unmarked black. The lower belly and under-tail coverts are white. The tail is black with white outer corners. The bill and legs are black.
Distribution & Habitat
Found in the northwest and central Himalayas, east Himalayas to central and southern China, northern Myanmar, northern China, and Taiwan. Four subspecies are recognized: N. h. hemispila, N. h. macella, N. h. interdicta, and N. h. owstoni.
Behavior & Ecology
Occurs primarily in pine forests, showing a particular preference for Chinese white pine, blue pine, and other related white pines. It caches and distributes the seeds of these trees. In the event of cone crop failure in preferred species, it will use other conifers such as spruce.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Nucifraga
Vocalizations
Subspecies (4)
-
Nucifraga hemispila hemispila
Himalayas from western Himachal Pradesh (Chambal) eastward, south of the Pir Panjal, to Nepal and northern India (Darjeeling)
Data Sources
CBR Notes: 将星鸦的hemispila、macella, interdicta 和 owstoni亚种提升为独立种Nucifraga hemispila（del Hoyo & Collar 2016; de Raad et al. 2022），中文名保留星鸦，英文名为Southern Nutcracker
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.
