White-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta carolinensis

Migratory Status: Resident

PIF Population Estimate: 9 100 000

Percent of western hemisphere population breeding in boreal forest: <25%

BAM Effective Detection Radius (m) : 65.59

PIF Maximum Detection Distance (m) : 125

Canadian BBS Population trend: 1.1 n.s. (-1.4 to 3.5)

Life History

The White-breasted Nuthatch is a distinctively chunky bird that frequents winter bird feeders. It has nearly pure white underparts and a blue-gray back. Large black eyes stand out against the white cheeks. In males, the cap is black, while in females, it is usually gray. The undertail coverts are rusty. White-breasted Nuthatches have the habit of creeping along large branches and walking headfirst down tree trunks. White-breasted Nuthatches are, for the most part, permanent residents. Some northern and western birds are thought to be migratory, but they may be only dispersing juveniles.

White-breasted Nuthatches are primarily sub-boreal, ranging from southern Canada down to the highlands of central Mexico. Eleven subspecies of White-breasted Nuthatch are currently recognized; some overlapping in range, and others isolated. Favoured habitats are variable across regions. In much of eastern North America, deciduous or mixed forests are preferred, while in mountainous areas of the west, mixed riparian woodlands are preferred habitats. Their food consists mainly of insects extracted from bark crevices and seeds taken from a variety of sources. The White-breasted Nuthatch is a common visitor to bird feeders and will cache away large quantities of sunflower seeds. Their beaks are too slender and weak to crack open sunflower seeds directly; instead they use their sharp beaks to repeatedly hammer a seed until it opens.

Only males sing, giving a simple song of 6 to 10 single syllable “what” notes. Thirteen different call notes have been described. The common calls vary substantially geographically, with eastern birds giving a nasal “yenk”, western mountain birds uttering a rapid “yiji-yiji-yiji-yiji”, and Pacific coast birds producing a lazy “aaarn” call. White-breasted Nuthatches respond to the mobbing calls of chickadees and will join in, noisily calling in the presence of potential predators.

White-breasted Nuthatches are territorial, and typically live year round in a 10 to 20 ha area. They will attempt to defend nest sites from competitors such as Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens), but they can be easily displaced by these larger birds. Outside the breeding season, White-breasted Nuthatches will readily join mixed assemblages of foraging chickadees and warblers that pass through their territory.

Reference(s)

Grubb, Jr., T. C. and V. V. Pravosudov. 2008. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), The Birds of North America Online, . A. Poole, Ed. Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North America Online database: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/054