How to Identify aWhite-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta carolinensis · 5.1–5.5 in (13–14 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Clean white face and breast, blue-gray back, black cap, and a rusty wash under the tail.
Female
Similar but often with a paler gray (not jet-black) cap.
Male photo: Rhododendrites / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Second photo: Steve Ryan / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.0
Field marks
- Climbs headfirst DOWN tree trunks
- White face wrapping around the eye
- Black (or dark gray) cap and nape
- Long, slightly upturned bill
Similar species
What it sounds like
A nasal, repeated "yank-yank", lower and fuller than a Red-breasted Nuthatch’s.
Behaviour that gives it away
Walks head-first down tree trunks, which lets it spot food that birds climbing upward have already passed.
Habitat & range
Mature deciduous and mixed woods, wooded suburbs, and feeders across most of the U.S.
When you'll see it
Present all year in North America.
What it eats
Insects and seeds; jams nuts into bark and hammers ("hatches") them open.
Did you know?
Its nasal "yank-yank" call is one of the most recognizable sounds of a winter woodlot.
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