Clark's Nutcracker
Encyclopedia
Clark's Nutcracker sometimes referred to as Clark's Crow or Woodpecker Crow, is a passerine
bird in the family Corvidae
. It is slightly smaller than its Eurasia
n relative the Spotted Nutcracker
(N. caryocatactes). It is ashy-grey all over except for the black-and-white wings and central tail feathers (the outer ones are white). The bill, legs and feet are also black. This bird derives its name from the explorer William Clark.
and western Alberta
in the north to Baja California
and western New Mexico
in the south. There is also a small isolated population on the peak of Cerro Potosí
, elevation 3,700 metres (12,200 ft), in Nuevo León
, northeast Mexico
. It is mainly found in mountains at altitudes of 900–3,900 metres (3,000–12,900 ft) in pine forest. Outside the breeding season, it may wander extensively to lower altitudes and also further east as far as Illinois
(and exceptionally, Pennsylvania
), particularly following any cone crop failure in its normal areas.
s (Pinus sp.), principally the two cold-climate (high altitude) species of white pine
(Pinus subgenus Strobus) with large seeds P. albicaulis
and P. flexilis
, but also using other high-altitude species like P. balfouriana
, P. longaeva
and P. monticola
. During migrations to lower altitudes, it also extensively uses the seeds of pinyon pine
s. The isolated Cerro Potosí population is strongly associated with the local endemic Potosi Pinyon
Pinus culminicola. All Clark's Nutcrackers have a sublingual pouch capable of holding around 50-150 seeds, depending on the size of the seeds; the pouch greatly enhances the birds' ability to transport and store seeds.
Clark's Nutcrackers store seeds, usually in the ground for later consumption, in caches of 1-15 seeds (average of 3-4 seeds). Depending on the cone crop as well as the tree species, a single Clark's Nutcracker can cache as many as 98,000 seeds per season. The birds regularly store more than they actually need as an insurance against seed theft by other animals (squirrel
s, etc.), as well as low availability of alternative foods; this surplus seed is left in the cache, and may be able to germinate and grow into new trees, if the conditions are right. Through this activity of caching and over-storing, the bird is perpetuating its own habitat. Closely tied in with this storage behavior is the bird's remarkable long-term spatial memory; they are able to relocate caches of seeds with remarkable accuracy, even nine months later, and even when the cache sites are buried under up to a meter (3 ft) of snow.
The diet also includes a wide range of insect
prey, berries and other fruits, small mammal
s and occasionally flesh from carcasses. Eggs and nestlings are sometimes devoured, and peanut
s and suet have become a favorite at bird tables. Food is taken both from the ground and from trees, where the Nutcrackers are very agile among the branches. The birds are able to extract food by clasping pine cones in such a way that the cones are held between one or both feet. The birds then hack the cones open with their strong bills. Rotten logs are also hacked into in order to locate large beetle grubs, and animal dung may be flipped over in search of insects. Clark's Nutcrackers can also be opportunistic feeders in developed areas, and are know to some as "camp robbers".
. Whitebark Pine is in decline throughout its range, due to infection by White Pine Blister Rust (Cronartium ribicola)
, widespread outbreaks of Mountain Pine Beetle
, and the long term effects of fire suppression. The Clark's Nutcracker is an integral part of the Whitebark Pine restoration process: the Clark's Nutcracker must remain in Whitebark Pine forests and cache the seeds in excess, so that healthy Whitebark Pine will continue to grow. If Whitebark Pine declines into extinction, the Clark's Nutcracker will lose an important source of food and may no longer be seen in areas where Whitebark Pine is the primary source of seed, such as Glacier National Park
.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird in the family Corvidae
Corvidae
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...
. It is slightly smaller than its Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n relative the Spotted Nutcracker
Spotted Nutcracker
The Spotted Nutcracker, Eurasian Nutcracker, or just Nutcracker, is a passerine bird slightly larger than the Eurasian Jay. It has a much larger bill and a slimmer looking head without any crest. The feathering over its body is predominantly a chocolate brown with distinct white spots and streaks...
(N. caryocatactes). It is ashy-grey all over except for the black-and-white wings and central tail feathers (the outer ones are white). The bill, legs and feet are also black. This bird derives its name from the explorer William Clark.
Range
It can be seen in western North America from British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and western Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
in the north to Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
and western New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
in the south. There is also a small isolated population on the peak of Cerro Potosí
Cerro Potosí
Cerro El Potosí is the highest mountain in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range of northeast Mexico. It is located in the state of Nuevo León, about 80 km south of Monterrey....
, elevation 3,700 metres (12,200 ft), in Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
, northeast Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It is mainly found in mountains at altitudes of 900–3,900 metres (3,000–12,900 ft) in pine forest. Outside the breeding season, it may wander extensively to lower altitudes and also further east as far as Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
(and exceptionally, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
), particularly following any cone crop failure in its normal areas.
Food
The most important food resources for this species are the seeds of PinePine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
s (Pinus sp.), principally the two cold-climate (high altitude) species of white pine
Pinus classification
There are three main subgenera of Pinus, the subgenus Strobus , the subgenus Ducampopinus , and the subgenus Pinus...
(Pinus subgenus Strobus) with large seeds P. albicaulis
Whitebark Pine
Pinus albicaulis, known commonly as Whitebark Pine, Pitch Pine, Scrub Pine, and Creeping Pine occurs in the mountains of the Western United States and Canada, specifically the subalpine areas of the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Pacific Coast Ranges, and the northern Rocky Mountains –...
and P. flexilis
Limber Pine
The Limber Pine, Pinus flexilis, is a species of pine tree-the family Pinaceae that occurs in the mountains of the Western United States, Mexico, and Canada. It is also called Southwestern White Pine and Rocky Mountain White Pine...
, but also using other high-altitude species like P. balfouriana
Foxtail Pine
The Foxtail Pine is a rare pine that is endemic to California, United States, where it is found in two areas with a separate subspecies in each, the typical subsp. balfouriana in the Klamath Mountains, and subsp. austrina in the southern Sierra Nevada.-Description:Foxtail Pine is a tree to tall,...
, P. longaeva
Bristlecone pine
The bristlecone pines are a small group of pine trees that are thought to reach an age far greater than that of any other single living organism known, up to nearly 5,000 years....
and P. monticola
Western White Pine
Western White Pine, Pinus monticola in the family Pinaceae, is a species of pine that occurs in the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Coast Range, and the northern Rocky Mountains. The tree extends down to sea level in many...
. During migrations to lower altitudes, it also extensively uses the seeds of pinyon pine
Pinyon pine
The pinyon pine group grows in the southwestern United States and in Mexico. The trees yield edible pinyon nuts, which were a staple of the Native Americans, and are still widely eaten...
s. The isolated Cerro Potosí population is strongly associated with the local endemic Potosi Pinyon
Potosi Pinyon
Pinus culminicola, commonly known as Potosi Pinyon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native and endemic to northeast Mexico. The range is highly localised, confined to a small area of high summits in the northern Sierra Madre Oriental in Coahuila and Nuevo León, and only abundant on the highest...
Pinus culminicola. All Clark's Nutcrackers have a sublingual pouch capable of holding around 50-150 seeds, depending on the size of the seeds; the pouch greatly enhances the birds' ability to transport and store seeds.
Clark's Nutcrackers store seeds, usually in the ground for later consumption, in caches of 1-15 seeds (average of 3-4 seeds). Depending on the cone crop as well as the tree species, a single Clark's Nutcracker can cache as many as 98,000 seeds per season. The birds regularly store more than they actually need as an insurance against seed theft by other animals (squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
s, etc.), as well as low availability of alternative foods; this surplus seed is left in the cache, and may be able to germinate and grow into new trees, if the conditions are right. Through this activity of caching and over-storing, the bird is perpetuating its own habitat. Closely tied in with this storage behavior is the bird's remarkable long-term spatial memory; they are able to relocate caches of seeds with remarkable accuracy, even nine months later, and even when the cache sites are buried under up to a meter (3 ft) of snow.
The diet also includes a wide range of insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
prey, berries and other fruits, small mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s and occasionally flesh from carcasses. Eggs and nestlings are sometimes devoured, and peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s and suet have become a favorite at bird tables. Food is taken both from the ground and from trees, where the Nutcrackers are very agile among the branches. The birds are able to extract food by clasping pine cones in such a way that the cones are held between one or both feet. The birds then hack the cones open with their strong bills. Rotten logs are also hacked into in order to locate large beetle grubs, and animal dung may be flipped over in search of insects. Clark's Nutcrackers can also be opportunistic feeders in developed areas, and are know to some as "camp robbers".
Nesting
The species usually nests in pines or other types of conifers during early spring. Nests are built on the leeward side of the tree, wind protection being a larger concern than sunlight. Two to four eggs are laid, incubation usually occurring in 16–18 days. Incubation is performed by both the male and female parents, and the young are typically fledged by around the 22nd day. The fledglings follow their parents around for several months in order to learn the complex seed storage behavior.Whitebark Pine mutualism
Clark's Nutcracker is the primary seed disperser for Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis)Whitebark Pine
Pinus albicaulis, known commonly as Whitebark Pine, Pitch Pine, Scrub Pine, and Creeping Pine occurs in the mountains of the Western United States and Canada, specifically the subalpine areas of the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Pacific Coast Ranges, and the northern Rocky Mountains –...
. Whitebark Pine is in decline throughout its range, due to infection by White Pine Blister Rust (Cronartium ribicola)
Cronartium ribicola
Cronartium ribicola is a species of rust fungi in the family Cronartiaceae that causes the disease white pine blister rust.Like many other rusts, C. ribicola is heteroecious, meaning it requires two host species to complete its lifecycle that includes five spore stages...
, widespread outbreaks of Mountain Pine Beetle
Mountain pine beetle
The mountain pine beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae, is a species of bark beetle native to the forests of western North America from Mexico to central British Columbia. It has a hard black exoskeleton, and measures about 5 millimeters, about the size of a grain of rice.Mountain pine beetles inhabit...
, and the long term effects of fire suppression. The Clark's Nutcracker is an integral part of the Whitebark Pine restoration process: the Clark's Nutcracker must remain in Whitebark Pine forests and cache the seeds in excess, so that healthy Whitebark Pine will continue to grow. If Whitebark Pine declines into extinction, the Clark's Nutcracker will lose an important source of food and may no longer be seen in areas where Whitebark Pine is the primary source of seed, such as Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park may refer to:*Glacier National Park in British Columbia, Canada*Glacier National Park in Montana, USA-See also:*Glacier Bay National Park, in Alaska, USA*Los Glaciares National Park, in Argentina...
.
Other facts
The voice of this bird is extremely varied and produces many different sounds. However, the most frequent call is commonly described as khraaaa-khraaaa".External links
- Clark's Nutcracker
- Clark's Nutcracker photo gallery VIREO
- Clark's Nutcracker on the Internet Bird Collection
- Clark's Nutcracker at All About Birds
- Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation
