Sitta carolinensis
The White-breasted
Nuthatch is a small bird, about the size of a sparrow. It
grows up to six inches long. The upper part of its body is
bluish-gray, the lower part is white. The face of this bird
is also white, and the crown
is black. White-breasted Nuthatches
live in forests with decidous
trees (trees that lose their leaves in the Fall). They do
not migrate.
They live here year-round. This bird is most often
seen going up and down tree trunks looking for food. They
can run down the tree headfirst as well as up. Mated White-breasted
Nuthatches stay together all year. They build a nest in a
tree cavity
or bird box. Nests are made of twigs,
grass,
feathers, and hair. Female nuthatches lay
five or six white eggs with reddish-brown specks.
Copyright, R. W. Scott, Birds in Flight
White-breasted Nuthatches
eat fruits
and seeds
of the following plants: oaks, hickories, American Beech,
pines, Virginia Creeper, Elderberry, and sunflowers. These
birds will sometimes hide nuts in bark crevices to eat
later. They also eat insects and
spiders, including beetles, weevils, ants, termites, moths,
and caterpillars. In the winter,
White-breasted Nuthatches sometimes join flocks
to feed, which include chickadees, woodpeckers, and
titmice. Image courtesy of: The
Birdhouse Network http://birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse
Copyright 2001 Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Copyright, Dr. Dan Sudia