Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index

White-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch
Scientific Classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family:Sittidae
Genus:Sitta
Species:carolinensis
Binomial name
Sitta carolinensis

The White-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis, is a small songbird.

Adults have blue-grey upperparts with a white face and underparts; their crown and nape are black, greyer in the female. They have a long straight grey bill and a patch of rust colour under the tail. They have short legs with long claws, short wings and a short tail.

Their breeding habitat is deciduous and mixed forests across North America. They nest in a tree cavity, either natural or excavated by a woodpecker.

These birds are permanent residents, sometimes moving south in winter.

They forage on the trunk and large branches of trees, often descending head first. They mainly eat insects and some seeds. They often travel with small mixed flocks in winter.

The call is a nasal yeah-yeah-yeah.