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Bird name:

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Sitta pusillaOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Nuthatches (Sittidae)
Codes: Common Name: BHNU Scientific Name: SITPUS ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178785

Breeding Location:

Forests



Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Cooperative



Breeding Population:

Fairly common



Egg Color:

White with red brown speckles



Number of Eggs:

3 - 9



Incubation Days:

14



Egg Incubator:

Female



Nest Material:

Soft bark shreds, wood chips, grasses, wool, hair, feathers.



Migration:

Nonmigratory



Splitbar

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Attracting Clingers

General

Brown-headed Nuthatch: Medium-sized nuthatch with gray upperparts, brown cap, small, white nape patch, dark eye-line, white face, and buff underparts. Wings and tail are gray. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Brown-headed Nuthatch: Resident in much of the southeastern U.S. Preferred habitats include coniferous and mixed forests.

Breeding and Nesting

Brown-headed Nuthatch: Three to nine white eggs with red brown speckles are laid in a cavity nest made of soft bark shreds, wood chips, grass, wool, hair, and feathers, and built from 2 to 12 feet above the ground in a dead or live tree, bird box, stump, or old post. Female incubates eggs for about 14 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Brown-headed Nuthatch: Eats pine seeds, insects, and spiders. Forages over, around, and up and down branches, small twigs, and trunks, sometimes hanging upside down; caches seeds.

Readily Eats

Nut Meats, Sunflower Seed, Sunflower Seeds (hulled)

Vocalization

Brown-headed Nuthatch: Song is "pri-u, de-u, de-u", like a squeaky toy. Call is a squeaky "bit-bit-bit" or "dee-dee-dee."

Similar Species

Brown-headed Nuthatch: White-breasted Nuthatch is larger and has black cap. Red-breasted Nuthatch has black cap and eyestripe and rust-brown underparts.

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Family Nuthatch (Sittidae)_blue
Species Sitta pusilla
Length4 - 5 Inches
Wingspan8.5 Inches

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Brown-headed Nuthatch: Medium nuthatch, gray upperparts, brown cap, small, white nape patch, dark eye-line, white face, buff underparts. Wings and tail are gray. Legs and feet are black. Weak fluttering flight of short duration, alternates rapid wing beats with wings drawn to sides.

● Song: "pri-u, de-u, de-u", "bit-bit-bit", "dee-dee-dee"

● Foraging & Feeding: Brown-headed Nuthatch: Eats pine seeds, insects, and spiders. Forages over, around, and up and down branches, small twigs, and trunks, sometimes hanging upside down; caches seeds.

● Breeding & nesting: Brown-headed Nuthatch: Three to nine white eggs with red brown speckles are laid in a cavity nest made of soft bark shreds, wood chips, grass, wool, hair, and feathers, and built from 2 to 12 feet above the ground in a dead or live tree, bird box, stump, or old post. Female incubates eggs for about 14 days.

● Similar species: Brown-headed Nuthatch: White-breasted Nuthatch is larger and has black cap. Red-breasted Nuthatch has black cap and eyestripe and rust-brown underparts.

Flight Pattern

Weak fluttering flight of short duration, with series of rapid wing beats followed by wings pulled in to sides, repeated.
Brown-headed Nuthatch Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Brown-headed Nuthatch: Resident in much of the southeastern U.S. Preferred habitats include coniferous and mixed forests.
BreedingMonogamous, Cooperative
PopulationFairly common
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight0.4 Ounces
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
CapX
The area on top of the head of the bird.
FaceX
The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.
NapeX
Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

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.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX