White-breasted Nuthatch

Photo by MI_Phil
Wexford County, Michigan, USA

Sitta carolinensis

Identification

Length 13-15 cm

• Blue-grey above
• White underparts and face
• Black crown

Variation

Three forms should be distinguishable in the field: slender-billed (Pacific), Rocky Mountain, and Carolina (Eastern half of the continent). See post 58 in this Birdforum thread^[4].

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.

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

Nine subspecies are recognized:

• S. c. carolinensis - North-eastern North America to Dakotas, Kansas, Oklahoma and eastern Texas
• S. c. nelsoni - Rocky Mountains of western US to northern Mexico (Sonora and northern Chihuahua)
• S. c. oberholseri - South-western Texas (Chisos Mountains) to eastern Mexico (northern Sierra Madre Oriental)
• S. c. mexicana - Mountains of western Mexico (Sierra Madre Occidental)
• S. c. kinneari - Mountains of western Mexico (Guerrero and Oaxaca)
• S. c. tenuissima -British Columbia and Cascades to Sierra Nevada of northern California
• S. c. aculeata -Western Washington to Oregon, California and northern Baja (Sierra Juárez)
• S. c. alexandrae -Mountains of northern Baja California (San Pedro Mártir)
• S. c. lagunae Mountains of southern Baja California (Sierra de la Laguna)

Three additional subspecies, atkinsi, umbrosa and cookei^[2], are not recognised by all authorities.

A recent paper proposes that the White-breasted Nuthatch should be split into 4 species corresponding to the areas The Pacific, The East, ESNNR [Eastern Sierra Nevada and Northern Rockies] and RGM [Rocky Mountain, Great Basin and Mexico]^[4].

Habitat

Deciduous and mixed forests, also coniferous.

Behaviour

Usually seen creeping on tree trunks, head downward

Breeding

Five to six white eggs, lightly speckled with red-brown, are laid in a cup of twigs and grass lined with feathers and hair. The nest site is in a natural cavity, bird box, or hole excavated by the birds.

Diet

They have a varied diet of insects, seeds, acorns and nuts and are known to stores food behind loose bark for use during the winter. Commonly seen at bird feeders.

Vocalisation

Call: A nasal yank-yank.
Song: A series of low whistled notes.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. eNature
3. Wikipedia
4. Birdforum thread (especially from post29) discussing taxonomy of this species

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) White-breasted Nuthatch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-breasted_Nuthatch

External Links

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