White-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta carolinensisOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Nuthatches (Sittidae)

Codes: Common Name: WBNU Scientific Name: SITCAR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178775

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous, Forest edge

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

White to pink with brown, purple and red marks

Number of Eggs:

3 - 10

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Lined with bark shreds, hair, and feathers.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

General

White-breasted Nuthatch: Large nuthatch with blue-gray upperparts, black crown and nape, and white face and underparts. Tail is dark with white corners. Female is grayer. Clings to trees, often upside down.

Range and Habitat

White-breasted Nuthatch: Largely resident from British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia south to southern California, Arizona, the Gulf Coast, and central Florida. Absent from treeless areas in the Great Plains and semiarid shrub and scrub steppe of the Great Basin and Sonoran Desert. Common and widespread, inhabits mixed deciduous and coniferous forests, and prefers the presence of oak trees.

Breeding and Nesting

White-breasted Nuthatch: Three to ten white to pink eggs, marked with brown, purple and red, are laid in a cup nest made of twigs and grass, lined with bark shreds, hair, and feathers, and built in a natural cavity, knothole, woodpecker hole, or bird box, 10 to 60 feet above ground. Female incubates eggs for about 12 days.

Foraging and Feeding

White-breasted Nuthatch: Feeds on insects, spiders, seeds, and nuts. "Nuthatch” is derived from its habit of placing seeds or nuts in crevices of trees, then prying them open with its bill; may hide seeds in loose bark or crevices.

Readily Eats

Suet, Sunflower Seed

Vocalization

White-breasted Nuthatch: This bird is usually quiet during breeding season and in the summer. In late winter and spring it sings a series of about 6-8 low whistled notes. The call is a nasal sounding "yank-yank."

Similar Species

White-breasted Nuthatch: Red-breasted Nuthatch has a black eye-line and red underparts. Brown-headed and Pygmy nuthatches have brown caps and white patch on nape. While not definitive, Red-breasted, Pygmy, and Brown-headed nuthatches are mostly found in pines, whereas the White-breasted prefers deciduous trees.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

White-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch: Large nuthatch, blue-gray upperparts, black crown and nape, and white face, underparts. Tail is dark with white corners. Legs and feet are black. Eats spiders,insects, nuts and seeds. Weak fluttering flight, alternates rapid wing beats with periods of wings drawn to sides.

● Song: "yank-yank"

● Foraging & Feeding: White-breasted Nuthatch: Feeds on insects, spiders, seeds, and nuts. "Nuthatch” is derived from its habit of placing seeds or nuts in crevices of trees, then prying them open with its bill; may hide seeds in loose bark or crevices.

● Breeding & nesting: White-breasted Nuthatch: Three to ten white to pink eggs, marked with brown, purple and red, are laid in a cup nest made of twigs and grass, lined with bark shreds, hair, and feathers, and built in a natural cavity, knothole, woodpecker hole, or bird box, 10 to 60 feet above ground. Female incubates eggs for about 12 days.

● Similar species: White-breasted Nuthatch: Red-breasted Nuthatch has a black eye-line and red underparts. Brown-headed and Pygmy nuthatches have brown caps and white patch on nape. While not definitive, Red-breasted, Pygmy, and Brown-headed nuthatches are mostly found in pines, whereas the White-breasted prefers deciduous trees.

Flight Pattern

Weak fluttering flights of short duration., Alternates several rapid wing beats with wings drawn to sides.

White-breasted Nuthatch Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: White-breasted Nuthatch: Largely resident from British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia south to southern California, Arizona, the Gulf Coast, and central Florida. Absent from treeless areas in the Great Plains and semiarid shrub and scrub steppe of the Great Basin and Sonoran Desert. Common and widespread, inhabits mixed deciduous and coniferous forests, and prefers the presence of oak trees.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^Population

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight0.7 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America