White-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta carolinensis

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family SITTIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A common bird of deciduous forests and wooded suburbs, the White-breasted Nuthatch can be seen hopping headfirst down the trunks of trees in search of insect food. It frequents bird feeders and takes sunflower seeds off to the side of a tree, where it wedges them into a crevice and hammers them open.

Cool Facts

• Nuthatches gather nuts and seeds, jam them into tree bark, and hammer or "hatch" the food open with their bills.
• The White-breasted Nuthatch is normally territorial throughout the year, with pairs staying together. The male is more vigilant when he forages alone than when he is with the female. The female, however, is in danger of having the more dominant male displace her from foraging sites, and she is more vigilant when he is around than when she is alone.

• In winter, the White-breasted Nuthatch joins foraging flocks led by chickadees or titmice. One explanation for these flocks is that the birds gain protection from predators by the vigilance of the other birds. In support of this idea, one study found that if titmice were removed from a flock, nuthatches were more wary and reluctant to come to exposed bird feeders.

Description

• Size: 13-14 cm (5-6 in)
• Wingspan: 20-27 cm (8-11 in)
• Weight: 18-30 g (0.64-1.06 ounces)

• Large nuthatch; creeps headfirst down tree trunks.
• Dark gray or black cap.
• Bright white face and underparts.
• Blue-gray upper parts.
• Long bill either straight or slightly upturned.

• Tail short.
• Black outer tail feathers have a white band obvious in flight.
• Undertail coverts and sides rusty.
• Eyes black.
• Feet gray.

Sex Differences

Sexes similar; male with black cap, female with grayer cap.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult but markings slightly paler.

Similar Species

• Red-breasted Nuthatch is smaller, has white eyestripe, and is reddish underneath.
• Pygmy Nuthatch and Brown-headed Nuthatch both are much smaller and have brownish gray or brown crowns.
• The Brown Creeper works its way up, not down tree trunks, and is small, brown, and striped.
• Though it looks like a chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch is shaped differently, and acts very differently. The nuthatch has a shorter tail and longer bill than chickadees. And while both will hang upside down to get at food, only the nuthatch creeps along the sides of trunk and branches.

Sound

Song a series of soft, slightly nasal "what, what, what" notes. Call a soft "yank.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident in deciduous forests from southern Canada southward to northern Florida and southern Mexico.

Habitat

Found in mature deciduous forests, especially near openings and edges. Also parks and suburbs with large trees.

Food

Insects, nuts, and seeds.

Behavior

Foraging

Forages by searching tree bark of trunk and large branches, usually coming down headfirst. Places food in crevices of bark and hammers on it. Hides food in bark crevices for later use. Joins foraging flocks led by chickadees.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Builds in cavities in trees. Cavity lined with fur, fine grass, and shredded bark.

Egg Description

Color: Creamy white speckled with reddish brown.

Size: 18.20-20.22 mm x 13.0-15.2 mm
(.72-.80 in x .51-.60 in)

Incubation period: 13-14 days.

Clutch Size

5-9 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless and with some down.
Chicks fledge in 26 days.

Conservation Status

Common and widespread. Populations increasing over most of range.

Other Names

Sittelle à poitrine blanch (French)
Saltapalo blanco (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

1) Dolby, A. S. and T. C. Grubb, Jr. 2000. Social context affects risk taking by a satellite species in a mixed-species foraging group. Behavioral Ecology 11: 110-114.
2 ) Pravosudov, V. V., and T. C. Grubb, Jr. 1993. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). In The Birds of North America, No. 54 (A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.