Spotted Nutcracker, Bhutan

The spotted nutcracker, Eurasian nutcracker, or just nutcracker, is a passerine bird slightly larger than the Eurasian jay. It has a much larger bill and a slimmer looking head without any crest. The feathering over its body is predominantly a chocolate brown with distinct white spots and streaks. The wings and upper tail are virtually black with a greenish-blue gloss. It is one of three species of nutcracker. The most important food resources for this species are the seeds (pine nuts) of various Pines (Pinus sp.), principally the cold-climate. In some regions, where none of these pines occur, the seeds of spruce (Picea sp.) and hazel nuts (Corylus sp.) form an important part of the diet too. The forms that take hazel nuts have thicker bills for cracking their hard shells, with a special ridge on the inside of the bill edge near the base. If the shell is too hard, it holds the nut between its feet and hacks at it with its bill like a chisel.

Surplus seed is always stored for later use and it is this species that is responsible for the sowing of new trees of their favoured pines, including the re-establishment of the Swiss pine over large areas in the Alps of central Europe formerly cleared by man. Various insects are also taken, and also small birds, their eggs and nestlings, small rodents and carrion such as roadkills. It digs out bumble bee and wasp nests avidly to get at the grubs. This is classified as least concern by IUCN.