White-breasted Nuthatch
Encyclopedia
The White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) is a small songbird
of the nuthatch
family which breeds in old-growth woodland across much of temperate North America. It is a stocky bird, with a large head, short tail, powerful bill and strong feet. The upperparts are pale blue-gray, and the face and underparts are white. It has a black cap and a chestnut lower belly. The nine subspecies
differ mainly in the color of the body plumage
.
Like other nuthatch
es, the White-breasted Nuthatch forages for insects on trunks and branches, and is able to move head-first down trees. Seeds form a substantial part of its winter diet, as do acorn
s and hickory
nuts that were stored by the bird in the fall. The nest is in a hole in a tree, and the breeding pair may smear insects around the entrance as a deterrent to squirrels. Adults and young may be killed by hawks, owls and snakes, and forest clearance may lead to local habitat loss, but this is a common species with no major conservation concerns over most of its range.
es are a genus
, Sitta, of small passerine
bird
s which derive their English name from the propensity of some species to wedge large insects or seeds into cracks, and then hack at them with their strong bills. Sitta is derived from sittē, the Ancient Greek
for nuthatch, and carolinensis means "of Carolina" in Latin
. The White-breasted Nuthatch was first described by English ornithologist John Latham
in his 1790 work, the Index Ornithologicus.
Nuthatch taxonomy is complex, with geographically separated species sometimes closely resembling each other. The White-breasted Nuthatch has a similar appearance and contact call to the White-cheeked Nuthatch
, Sitta leucopsis, of the Himalayas
and was formerly considered to be conspecific
.
(0.64–1.06 oz)
.
The adult male of the nominate subspecies, S. c. carolinensis, has pale blue-gray upperparts, a glossy black cap (crown of the head), and a black band on the upper back. The wing covert
s and flight feather
s are very dark gray with paler fringes, and the closed wing is pale gray and black, with a thin white wing bar. The face and the underparts are white. The outer tail feathers are black with broad diagonal white bands across the outer three feathers, a feature readily visible in flight.
The female has, on average, a narrower black back band, slightly duller upperparts and buffer underparts than the male. Her cap may be gray, but many females have black caps, and cannot be reliably distinguished from the male in the field. In the northeastern United States, at least 10% of females have black caps, but the proportion rises to 40–80% in the Rocky Mountains
, Mexico and the southeastern U.S. Juveniles are similar to the adult, but duller plumaged.
Like other nuthatches, this is a noisy species with a range of vocalizations. The male's mating song is a rapid nasal qui-qui-qui-qui-qui-qui-qui. The contact call between members of a pair, given most frequently in the fall and winter is a thin squeaky nit, uttered up to 30 times a minute. A more distinctive sound is a shrill kri repeated rapidly with mounting anxiety or excitement kri-kri-kri-kri-kri-kri-kri-kri; the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin
subspecies have a higher, faster yididitititit call, and Pacific birds a more nasal beeerf.
Three other, significantly smaller, nuthatches have ranges which overlap that of White-breasted, but none has white plumage completely surrounding the eye. Further distinctions are that the Red-breasted Nuthatch
has a black eye line and reddish underparts, and the Brown-headed
and Pygmy Nuthatch
es each have a brown cap, and a white patch on the nape of the neck.
, habitat usage, and vocalizations. These groups cover eastern North America, the Great Basin and central Mexico, and the Pacific coastal regions. The subspecies of the western interior have the darkest upperparts, and eastern S. c. carolinensis has the palest back. The eastern form also has a thicker bill and broader dark cap stripe than the interior and Pacific races. The calls of the three groups differ, as described above. The Great Basin and Eastern forms have been observed in secondary contact on the Great Plains, where they do not seem to mix.
, from southern Canada to northern Florida
and southern Mexico. In the eastern part of its range, its preferred habitat is old-growth open deciduous
or mixed forest, including orchards, parks, suburban gardens and cemeteries; it is found mainly in the lowlands, although it breeds at 1,675 m (5,500 ft) altitude in Tennessee
. In the west and Mexico, this nuthatch is found in open montane
pine
-oak
woodlands, and nesting occurs at up to 3,200 m (10,500 ft) altitude in Nevada, California and Mexico. Pinyon
-juniper
and riverside woodlands may be used locally where available. The White-breasted Nuthatch is the only North American nuthatch usually found in deciduous trees; Red-breasted, Pygmy and Brown-headed Nuthatches prefer pines.
The presence of mature or decaying trees with holes suitable for nesting is essential, and trees such as oak, beech
and hickory are favored in the east since they provide edible seeds. Although suitable habitat is distributed continentally, it is discontinuous, and the separate populations of this non-migratory
species have diverged to form distinct regional subspecies.
This nuthatch, like most of its genus, is non-migratory, and the adults normally stay in their territory year-round. There may be more noticeable dispersal due to seed failure or high reproductive success in some years, and this species has occurred as a vagrant to Vancouver Island
, Santa Cruz Island
, and Bermuda
. One bird landed on the RMS Queen Mary
six hours sailing east of New York
in October 1963.
The White-breasted Nuthatch is monogamous
, and pairs form following a courtship in which the male bows to the female, spreading his tail and drooping his wings while swaying back and forth; he also feeds her morsels of food. The pair establish a territory of 0.10–0.15 square kilometers (25–38 acres) in woodland, and up to 0.2 square kilometers (50 acres) in semi-wooded habitats, and then remain together year-round until one partner dies or disappears. The nest cavity is usually a natural hole in a decaying tree, sometimes an old woodpecker
nest, and occasionally an artificial nest box intended for the Eastern Bluebird
.
The nest hole is usually 3–12 m (10–40 ft) high in a tree and is lined with fur, fine grass, and shredded bark. The clutch is five to nine eggs which are creamy-white, speckled with reddish brown, and average 19 x 14 mm (0.75 x 0.55 in) in size. The eggs are incubated by the female for 13 to 14 days prior to hatching, and the altricial
chicks fledge
in a further 18 to 26 days. Both adults feed the chicks in the nest and for about two weeks after fledging, and the male also feeds the female while she is incubating. Once independent, juveniles leave the adults' territory and either establish their own territory or become "floaters", unpaired birds without territories. It is probably these floaters which are mainly involved in the irregular dispersals of this species. This species of nuthatch roosts in tree holes or behind loose bark when not breeding, and has the unusual habit of removing its faeces from the roost site in the morning. It usually roosts alone except in very cold weather, when up to 29 birds have been recorded together.
(such as Sharp-shinned
and Cooper's Hawk
s), and nestlings and eggs are eaten by woodpeckers, small squirrel
s, and climbing snakes such as the Smooth Green Snake
. The White-breasted Nuthatch responds to predators near the nest by flicking its wings while making hn-hn calls. When a bird leaves the nest hole, it wipes around the entrance with a piece of fur or vegetation; this makes it more difficult for a predator to find the nest using its sense of smell. The nuthatch may also smear blister beetle
s around the entrance to its nest, and it has been suggested that the unpleasant smell from the crushed insects deters squirrel
s, its chief competitor for natural tree cavities. The estimated average lifespan of this nuthatch is two years, but the record is twelve years and nine months.
This nuthatch's responses to predators may be linked to a reproductive strategy. A study compared the White-breasted Nuthatch with the Red-breasted Nuthatch in terms of the willingness of males to feed incubating females on the nest when presented with models of predators. The models were of a Sharp-shinned Hawk, which hunts adult nuthatches, and a House Wren
, which destroys eggs. The White-breasted Nuthatch is shorter-lived than the Red-breasted Nuthatch, but has more young, and was found to respond more strongly to the egg predator, whereas the Red-breasted showed greater concern with the hawk. This supports the theory that longer-lived species benefit from adult survival and future breeding opportunities, while birds with shorter life spans place more value on the survival of their larger broods.
, but does not use its tail for additional support, instead progressing in jerky hops using its strong legs and feet. All nuthatches are distinctive when seeking food because they are able to descend tree trunks head-first and can hang upside-down beneath twigs and branches.
This nuthatch is omnivorous, eating insect
s and seeds. It places large food items such as acorns or hickory nuts in crevices in tree trunks, and then hammers them open with its strong beak; surplus seeds are cached under loose bark or crevices of trees. The diet in winter may be nearly 70% seeds, but in summer it is mainly insects. The insects consumed by the White-breasted Nuthatch include caterpillars, ants, and pest species such as pine weevil
s, oystershell
and other scale insect
s, and jumping plant lice
. This bird will occasionally feed on the ground, and readily visits feeding stations for nuts, suet and sunflower
seeds, the last of which it often takes away to store.
The White-breasted Nuthatch often travels with small mixed flocks
in winter. These flocks are led by titmice and chickadees, with nuthatches and Downy Woodpecker
s as common attendant species. Participants in such flocks are thought to benefit in terms of foraging and predator avoidance. It is likely that the attendant species also access the information carried in the chickadees' calls and reduce their own level of vigilance accordingly.
. For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern
.
The removal of dead trees from forests may cause problems locally for this species because it requires cavity sites for nesting; declines have been noted in Washington, Florida, and more widely in the southeastern U.S. west to Texas. In contrast, the breeding range is expanding in Alberta, and numbers are increasing in the northeast due to regrown forest. This nuthatch is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
, to which the three countries in which it occurs (Canada, Mexico, and the United States) are all signatories.
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
of the nuthatch
Nuthatch
The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs...
family which breeds in old-growth woodland across much of temperate North America. It is a stocky bird, with a large head, short tail, powerful bill and strong feet. The upperparts are pale blue-gray, and the face and underparts are white. It has a black cap and a chestnut lower belly. The nine subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
differ mainly in the color of the body plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
.
Like other nuthatch
Nuthatch
The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs...
es, the White-breasted Nuthatch forages for insects on trunks and branches, and is able to move head-first down trees. Seeds form a substantial part of its winter diet, as do acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
s and hickory
Hickory
Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
nuts that were stored by the bird in the fall. The nest is in a hole in a tree, and the breeding pair may smear insects around the entrance as a deterrent to squirrels. Adults and young may be killed by hawks, owls and snakes, and forest clearance may lead to local habitat loss, but this is a common species with no major conservation concerns over most of its range.
Taxonomy
The nuthatchNuthatch
The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs...
es are a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
, Sitta, of small passerine
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
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s which derive their English name from the propensity of some species to wedge large insects or seeds into cracks, and then hack at them with their strong bills. Sitta is derived from sittē, the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
for nuthatch, and carolinensis means "of Carolina" in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. The White-breasted Nuthatch was first described by English ornithologist John Latham
John Latham (ornithologist)
John Latham was an English physician, naturalist and author. He was born at Eltham in Kent, and was the eldest son of John Latham, a surgeon there, and his mother was a descendant of the Sothebys, in Yorkshire....
in his 1790 work, the Index Ornithologicus.
Nuthatch taxonomy is complex, with geographically separated species sometimes closely resembling each other. The White-breasted Nuthatch has a similar appearance and contact call to the White-cheeked Nuthatch
White-cheeked Nuthatch
The White-cheeked Nuthatch is a species of bird in the Sittidae family. It is found in Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.Its natural habitats are boreal forests and temperate forests.-References:...
, Sitta leucopsis, of the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
and was formerly considered to be conspecific
Conspecificity
Conspecificity is a concept in biology. Two or more individual organisms, populations, or taxa are conspecific if they belong to the same species....
.
Description
Like other members of its genus, the White-breasted Nuthatch has a large head, short tail, short wings, a powerful bill and strong feet; it is 13–14 cm (5–6 in) long, with a wingspan of 20–27 cm (8–11 in) and a weight of 18–30 gGram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
(0.64–1.06 oz)
Ounce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
.
The adult male of the nominate subspecies, S. c. carolinensis, has pale blue-gray upperparts, a glossy black cap (crown of the head), and a black band on the upper back. The wing covert
Covert (feather)
A covert feather on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts, which as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail.- Wing-coverts :...
s and flight feather
Flight feather
Flight feathers are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges while those on the tail are called rectrices . Their primary function is to aid in the generation of both thrust and lift, thereby...
s are very dark gray with paler fringes, and the closed wing is pale gray and black, with a thin white wing bar. The face and the underparts are white. The outer tail feathers are black with broad diagonal white bands across the outer three feathers, a feature readily visible in flight.
The female has, on average, a narrower black back band, slightly duller upperparts and buffer underparts than the male. Her cap may be gray, but many females have black caps, and cannot be reliably distinguished from the male in the field. In the northeastern United States, at least 10% of females have black caps, but the proportion rises to 40–80% in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
, Mexico and the southeastern U.S. Juveniles are similar to the adult, but duller plumaged.
Like other nuthatches, this is a noisy species with a range of vocalizations. The male's mating song is a rapid nasal qui-qui-qui-qui-qui-qui-qui. The contact call between members of a pair, given most frequently in the fall and winter is a thin squeaky nit, uttered up to 30 times a minute. A more distinctive sound is a shrill kri repeated rapidly with mounting anxiety or excitement kri-kri-kri-kri-kri-kri-kri-kri; the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
subspecies have a higher, faster yididitititit call, and Pacific birds a more nasal beeerf.
Three other, significantly smaller, nuthatches have ranges which overlap that of White-breasted, but none has white plumage completely surrounding the eye. Further distinctions are that the Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
The Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis, is a small songbird. The adult has blue-grey upperparts with cinnamon underparts, a white throat and face with a black stripe through the eyes, a straight grey bill and a black crown. Its call, which has been likened to a tin trumpet, is high-pitched...
has a black eye line and reddish underparts, and the Brown-headed
Brown-headed Nuthatch
The Brown-headed Nuthatch, Sitta pusilla, is a small songbird found in pine forests throughout the Southeastern United States. An endangered population occurs in the pineyards of Grand Bahama; some authorities consider it to represent a separate species, S. insularis...
and Pygmy Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
The Pygmy Nuthatch is a tiny songbird, about 10 cm long and about 10 grams in weight. It ranges from southern British Columbia south through various discontinuous parts of the western U.S. , to central Mexico...
es each have a brown cap, and a white patch on the nape of the neck.
Geographical variation
The White-breasted Nuthatch has nine subspecies, although the differences are small and change gradually across the range. The subspecies are sometimes treated as three groups based on close similarities in morphologyMorphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
, habitat usage, and vocalizations. These groups cover eastern North America, the Great Basin and central Mexico, and the Pacific coastal regions. The subspecies of the western interior have the darkest upperparts, and eastern S. c. carolinensis has the palest back. The eastern form also has a thicker bill and broader dark cap stripe than the interior and Pacific races. The calls of the three groups differ, as described above. The Great Basin and Eastern forms have been observed in secondary contact on the Great Plains, where they do not seem to mix.
| Subspecies | Range | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
| S. c. carolinensis | Nominate subspecies, northeast North America west to Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota.... and eastern Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in... |
Palest back and cap |
| S. c. nelsoni | Rocky Mountains, from northern Montana Montana Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,... south to extreme northwest Chihuahua |
Smaller than nominate, darker gray upperparts, darker cap, less contrast in wings |
| S. c. tenuissima | From British Columbia British 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... through the Cascade Range Cascade Range The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades... to southern California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... |
Smaller than S. c. nelsoni, with slightly paler upperparts and a more slender bill |
| S. c. aculeata | Western parts of Washington, Oregon Oregon Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern... and California, northernmost 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... . |
Smaller than S. c. tenuissima, with buffer underparts, slightly paler upperparts and a more slender bill |
| S. c. alexandrae | Northern Baja California | Larger than S. c. aculeata, with marginally darker upperparts. The longest-billed race |
| S. c. lagunae | Southernmost Baja California | Smaller than S. c. alexandrae with slightly darker; underparts and more buff. Bill relatively stout |
| S. c. oberholseri | Southwest Texas and eastern Mexico | Very similar to S. c. nelsoni, but upperparts and underparts slightly darker |
| S. c. mexicana | Western Mexico | Duller than S. c. oberholseri with grayer flanks |
| S. c. kinneari | Southern Mexico in Guerrero Guerrero Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo.... and Oaxaca Oaxaca Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions... |
Smallest subspecies, similar to S. c. mexicana but female has more extensively orange-buff underparts. Short, stout bill |
Distribution and habitat
The breeding habitat of the White-breasted Nuthatch is woodland across North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, from southern Canada to northern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and southern Mexico. In the eastern part of its range, its preferred habitat is old-growth open deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
or mixed forest, including orchards, parks, suburban gardens and cemeteries; it is found mainly in the lowlands, although it breeds at 1,675 m (5,500 ft) altitude in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. In the west and Mexico, this nuthatch is found in open montane
Montane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
pine
Pine
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:...
-oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
woodlands, and nesting occurs at up to 3,200 m (10,500 ft) altitude in Nevada, California and Mexico. Pinyon
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...
-juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
and riverside woodlands may be used locally where available. The White-breasted Nuthatch is the only North American nuthatch usually found in deciduous trees; Red-breasted, Pygmy and Brown-headed Nuthatches prefer pines.
The presence of mature or decaying trees with holes suitable for nesting is essential, and trees such as oak, beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
and hickory are favored in the east since they provide edible seeds. Although suitable habitat is distributed continentally, it is discontinuous, and the separate populations of this non-migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
species have diverged to form distinct regional subspecies.
This nuthatch, like most of its genus, is non-migratory, and the adults normally stay in their territory year-round. There may be more noticeable dispersal due to seed failure or high reproductive success in some years, and this species has occurred as a vagrant to Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz Island was the largest privately owned island off the continental United States, but is currently part-owned by the National Park service . The island, located off the coast of California, is long and from wide...
, and Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. One bird landed on the RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
six hours sailing east of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in October 1963.
Breeding
Monogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
, and pairs form following a courtship in which the male bows to the female, spreading his tail and drooping his wings while swaying back and forth; he also feeds her morsels of food. The pair establish a territory of 0.10–0.15 square kilometers (25–38 acres) in woodland, and up to 0.2 square kilometers (50 acres) in semi-wooded habitats, and then remain together year-round until one partner dies or disappears. The nest cavity is usually a natural hole in a decaying tree, sometimes an old woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
nest, and occasionally an artificial nest box intended for the Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird
The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands and orchards, and most recently can be spotted in suburban areas. It is the state bird of Missouri and New York....
.
The nest hole is usually 3–12 m (10–40 ft) high in a tree and is lined with fur, fine grass, and shredded bark. The clutch is five to nine eggs which are creamy-white, speckled with reddish brown, and average 19 x 14 mm (0.75 x 0.55 in) in size. The eggs are incubated by the female for 13 to 14 days prior to hatching, and the altricial
Altricial
Altricial, meaning "requiring nourishment", refers to a pattern of growth and development in organisms which are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born...
chicks fledge
Fledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
in a further 18 to 26 days. Both adults feed the chicks in the nest and for about two weeks after fledging, and the male also feeds the female while she is incubating. Once independent, juveniles leave the adults' territory and either establish their own territory or become "floaters", unpaired birds without territories. It is probably these floaters which are mainly involved in the irregular dispersals of this species. This species of nuthatch roosts in tree holes or behind loose bark when not breeding, and has the unusual habit of removing its faeces from the roost site in the morning. It usually roosts alone except in very cold weather, when up to 29 birds have been recorded together.
Survival
Predators of adult nuthatches include owls and diurnal birds of preyBird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
(such as Sharp-shinned
Sharp-shinned Hawk
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is a small hawk. In fact, "sharp-shins" or "sharpies" are the smallest to reside in USA and Canada, though some Neotropical species are smaller...
and Cooper's Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Cooper's Hawk is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from Canada to Mexico. As in many birds of prey, the male is smaller than the female...
s), and nestlings and eggs are eaten by woodpeckers, small 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, and climbing snakes such as the Smooth Green Snake
Smooth Green Snake
The smooth green snake is a non-venomous North American colubrid. It is also referred to as the grass snake.-Description:...
. The White-breasted Nuthatch responds to predators near the nest by flicking its wings while making hn-hn calls. When a bird leaves the nest hole, it wipes around the entrance with a piece of fur or vegetation; this makes it more difficult for a predator to find the nest using its sense of smell. The nuthatch may also smear blister beetle
Blister beetle
Blister beetles are beetles of the family Meloidae, so called for their defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin. There are approximately 7,500 known species worldwide. Many are conspicuous and some aposematically colored, announcing their toxicity to would-be...
s around the entrance to its nest, and it has been suggested that the unpleasant smell from the crushed insects deters 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, its chief competitor for natural tree cavities. The estimated average lifespan of this nuthatch is two years, but the record is twelve years and nine months.
This nuthatch's responses to predators may be linked to a reproductive strategy. A study compared the White-breasted Nuthatch with the Red-breasted Nuthatch in terms of the willingness of males to feed incubating females on the nest when presented with models of predators. The models were of a Sharp-shinned Hawk, which hunts adult nuthatches, and a House Wren
House Wren
The House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, is a very small songbird of the wren family, Troglodytidae. It occurs from Canada to southernmost South America, and is thus the most widely distributed bird in the Americas. It occurs in most suburban areas in its range and it is the single most common wren...
, which destroys eggs. The White-breasted Nuthatch is shorter-lived than the Red-breasted Nuthatch, but has more young, and was found to respond more strongly to the egg predator, whereas the Red-breasted showed greater concern with the hawk. This supports the theory that longer-lived species benefit from adult survival and future breeding opportunities, while birds with shorter life spans place more value on the survival of their larger broods.
Feeding
The White-breasted Nuthatch forages along tree trunks and branches in a similar way to woodpeckers and treecreepersCerthia
Certhia is the genus of birds containing the typical treecreepers, which together with the Spotted Creeper make up the family Certhiidae.The typical treecreepers occur in many wooded parts of the North Temperate Zone...
, but does not use its tail for additional support, instead progressing in jerky hops using its strong legs and feet. All nuthatches are distinctive when seeking food because they are able to descend tree trunks head-first and can hang upside-down beneath twigs and branches.
This nuthatch is omnivorous, eating 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...
s and seeds. It places large food items such as acorns or hickory nuts in crevices in tree trunks, and then hammers them open with its strong beak; surplus seeds are cached under loose bark or crevices of trees. The diet in winter may be nearly 70% seeds, but in summer it is mainly insects. The insects consumed by the White-breasted Nuthatch include caterpillars, ants, and pest species such as pine weevil
Hylobius abietis
Hylobius abietis is a beetle belonging to the family Curculionidae . It shares the common name pine weevil with the rarer Hylobius pinastri. This weevil is a common associate of conifers throughout Europe....
s, oystershell
Lepidosaphes ulmi
Lepidosaphes ulmi also known as apple mussel scale or oystershell scale is a scale insect that is a pest of trees and woody plants...
and other scale insect
Scale insect
The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects.-Ecology:...
s, and jumping plant lice
Jumping plant louse
Psyllids or jumping plant lice are small plant-feeding insects that tend to be very host specific, i.e. they only feed on one plant species or feed on a few related plants...
. This bird will occasionally feed on the ground, and readily visits feeding stations for nuts, suet and sunflower
Sunflower
Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
seeds, the last of which it often takes away to store.
The White-breasted Nuthatch often travels with small mixed flocks
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
in winter. These flocks are led by titmice and chickadees, with nuthatches and Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
The Downy Woodpecker is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.- Description :Adult Downy Woodpeckers are mainly black on the upperparts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the wings. There is a white bar above the eye and one below. They have a...
s as common attendant species. Participants in such flocks are thought to benefit in terms of foraging and predator avoidance. It is likely that the attendant species also access the information carried in the chickadees' calls and reduce their own level of vigilance accordingly.
Status
The White-breasted Nuthatch is a common species with a large range, estimated at 8.6 million square kilometers (3.3 million square miles). Its total population is estimated at 10 million individuals, and there is evidence of an overall population increase, so it is not believed to approach either the size criterion (fewer than 10,000 mature individuals) or the population decline criterion (declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations) of the IUCN Red ListIUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
. For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
.
The removal of dead trees from forests may cause problems locally for this species because it requires cavity sites for nesting; declines have been noted in Washington, Florida, and more widely in the southeastern U.S. west to Texas. In contrast, the breeding range is expanding in Alberta, and numbers are increasing in the northeast due to regrown forest. This nuthatch is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 , codified at , is a United States federal law, at first enacted in 1916 in order to implement the convention for the protection of migratory birds between the United States and Great Britain...
, to which the three countries in which it occurs (Canada, Mexico, and the United States) are all signatories.
External links
- Internet Bird Collection Videos
- South Dakota Birds and Birding Information and photographs
- USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- VIREO photo gallery
- White-breasted Nuthatch, Talk about Wildlife
- White-breasted Nuthatch, Birds of Nova Scotia
- White-breasted Nuthatch Bird Sound