Adults
Description
Size: 5.75”
Plumage/Description: Male and female plumage similar. Face, throat, and breast are pure white. Belly is gray. Back and wings are a slaty blue-gray color. Crown of head and nape are black. Under-tail coverts are a rust color.
Habitat: Pinyon/Juniper, Ponderosa/ Coniferous, Riparian/Deciduous, Residential
Time of year: Year-round
Relative Abundance: Common
Behavior: Like other nuthatch species, White-breasted Nuthatches are a bark gleaner. Using their chisel shaped beak they exfoliate bark from tree trunks in their relentless search for insects. Often mistaken for a woodpecker based on how they shimmy up and down tree trunks. Nuthatches will visit seed, nut and suet feeders at backyard bird feeding stations.
Diet: Insects, seeds, nuts, suet
Similar species: Pygmy and Red-breasted nuthatches
Best Sites: Granite Basin, Lynx Lake, Goldwater Lake, above 6,000 feet in the Bradshaw Mountains, Mingus Mountain.
