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;Sitta carolinensis | ;Sitta carolinensis | ||
[[Image:White-breasted_Nuthatch.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by MI_Phil<br />Photo taken: Wexford County, Michigan, USA..]] | [[Image:White-breasted_Nuthatch.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by MI_Phil<br />Photo taken: Wexford County, Michigan, USA..]] | ||
| − | == | + | ==Identification== |
| − | + | L. 5-6 in (13-15 cm)<br/> | |
| − | + | Sparrow-sized | |
| − | + | *Blue-gray above | |
| − | ==Distribution | + | *White underparts and face |
| + | *Black crown | ||
| + | Usually seen creeping on tree trunks, head downward | ||
| + | ==Distribution== | ||
Largely resident from British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia south to southern California, Arizona, Gulf Coast, and central Florida. Absent from most of Great Plains. | Largely resident from British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia south to southern California, Arizona, Gulf Coast, and central Florida. Absent from most of Great Plains. | ||
==Habitat== | ==Habitat== | ||
Deciduous and mixed forests, also coniferous. | Deciduous and mixed forests, also coniferous. | ||
==Behaviour== | ==Behaviour== | ||
| − | + | ====Breeding==== | |
| − | + | 5 or 6 white eggs, lightly speckled with red-brown, in a cup of twigs and grass lined with feathers and hair in a natural cavity, bird box, or hole excavated by the birds. | |
| − | + | ==Voice== | |
| + | ====Call==== | ||
| + | A nasal ''yank-yank''. | ||
| + | ====Song==== | ||
| + | A series of low whistled notes. | ||
| + | ==Discussion== | ||
| + | The habit of creeping headfirst down a tree trunk, then stopping and looking around with head held out at a 90-degree angle, is characteristic of nuthatches. The White-breasted is an inquisitive, acrobatic bird, pausing occasionally to hang and hammer at a crack. Essentially nonmigratory, during the fall it stores food for winter in crevices behind loose tree bark. Pairs seem to remain together year-round, for the species may be found in twos even in the dead of winter. Although they often join mixed flocks of chickadees, woodpeckers, and kinglets roaming the winter woods, they tend to remain in their territories. They are familiar visitors to bird feeders. | ||
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
{{GSearch|Sitta+carolinensis}} | {{GSearch|Sitta+carolinensis}} | ||
[[Category:Birds]] | [[Category:Birds]] | ||
Revision as of 19:50, 12 January 2008
- Sitta carolinensis
Identification
L. 5-6 in (13-15 cm)
Sparrow-sized
- Blue-gray above
- White underparts and face
- Black crown
Usually seen creeping on tree trunks, head downward
Distribution
Largely resident from British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia south to southern California, Arizona, Gulf Coast, and central Florida. Absent from most of Great Plains.
Habitat
Deciduous and mixed forests, also coniferous.
Behaviour
Breeding
5 or 6 white eggs, lightly speckled with red-brown, in a cup of twigs and grass lined with feathers and hair in a natural cavity, bird box, or hole excavated by the birds.
Voice
Call
A nasal yank-yank.
Song
A series of low whistled notes.
Discussion
The habit of creeping headfirst down a tree trunk, then stopping and looking around with head held out at a 90-degree angle, is characteristic of nuthatches. The White-breasted is an inquisitive, acrobatic bird, pausing occasionally to hang and hammer at a crack. Essentially nonmigratory, during the fall it stores food for winter in crevices behind loose tree bark. Pairs seem to remain together year-round, for the species may be found in twos even in the dead of winter. Although they often join mixed flocks of chickadees, woodpeckers, and kinglets roaming the winter woods, they tend to remain in their territories. They are familiar visitors to bird feeders.
