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White-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta carolinensisOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Nuthatches (Sittidae)
White-breasted Nuthatch Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: All-purpose
  • Eye Color: Dark brown.
  • Head Pattern: Capped
  • Crown Color: Black
  • Forehead Color: Black
  • Nape Color: Black
  • Throat Color: White
  • Cere color: No Data
White-breasted Nuthatch Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 13-15 cm (5-6 in)
  • Weight: 20 g (0.7 oz)
  • Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
  • Color: White, Black, Gray, Rufous or Rust
  • Underparts: White
  • Upperparts: Blue-gray
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid
White-breasted Nuthatch Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Weak fluttering flights of short duration., Alternates several rapid wing beats with wings drawn to sides.
  • Wingspan Range: 23-28 cm (9-11 in)
  • Wing Shape: Rounded-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Fan-shaped Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid with white and black edging.
  • Upper Tail: Blue-black
  • Under Tail: Rust-brown
  • Leg Color: Black
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Family Nuthatch (Sittidae)_blue
Species Sitta carolinensis
Length5 - 6 Inches
Wingspan10 Inches

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