The Nuthatch has a long pointed bill and short tail and, unlike woodpeckers and the Treecreeper, it climbs up, down and around the tree trunk and branches using its powerful toes.

The upperparts, wings, crown and nape are blue-grey and the underparts are orange-buff, changing red-brown on the flanks and towards the vent. Beneath the black eye stripe, which gives it a bandit-like appearance, is white. The bill is grey and the legs yellowish-brown.