Red-breasted Nuthatch

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a common resident of the boreal forests of North America. It can be seen and heard in non-breeding foraging flocks. Its ‘yank yank’ call is distinctive. Its range in coniferous forests extends from the Pacific Coast of B.C. to the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia, southward into the mountains of the American Southwest and the southern Appalachians in the east.

Adult Male (spring/summer)

Short black bill. Distinct white supercilium, black eyeline and black crown. White throat extending beneath black eyeline. Back, wings and tail bluish-grey. Rust underparts.

Adult Female (spring/summer)

Duller crown and paler underparts than adult male.

Juvenile

Duller head and paler underparts than adult male.

General:

Small, short-billed and short-tailed. Length: 11.5 cm. Wingspan: 21-22cm. Weight: 10 grams.

Behaviour:

In winter the Red-breasted Nuthatch is frequently found and heard in flocks of chickadees and kinglets. It exhibits characteristic behaviours, such as climbing head-down on the trunk of trees probing for insects, extracting and caching seeds in the winter.

Habitat:

Found in mature and diverse stands of coniferous forests, especially where spruce, fir, pine, hemlock, larch and cedar are present. May breed in mixed woodland when there is a strong coniferous component.

Information:

This is the only North American nuthatch to undergo regular irruptive movements that appear to be primarily driven by food shortages.
Breeding birds excavate their own nest cavities in tree snags, only rarely using existing cavities or nest boxes. A large amount of conifer resin is collected by parents from live trees and is smeared around the entrance during incubation and nestling periods to deter predators. Inside, the nest is lined with fur, feathers, hair, and fine grasses. Five to six eggs are laid and are white to pinkish-white, marked with reddish-brown.

Similar species:

Brown-headed Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch.

Conservation Status:

Listed as Least Concern.

Capture Rates:

A year round resident, the Red-breasted Nuthatch’s preferred habitat is coniferous forest which occurs within Colony Farm but outside of the banding area. Captures occur in May and October as a result of few individuals dispersing within the park.

Molt Summary:

PF: HY partial (Jul-Sep); PB: AHY complete (Jun-Sep); PA absent-limited (Mar-Apr).
Molts occur primarily on the summer grounds.
Preformative molt: includes no to some lesser covs, few if any med covs and no gr covs, terts, or rects.

Once skull pneumatization completes nuthatches should be aged U/AHY.

This HY (likely male?) in very early September is showing a white base to the lower mandible. The lower mandible has a yellow base in juvenile birds which changes to white after 2-4 weeks (compare with the juvenal bird above).

The wing of the HY bird above in early September is showing uniformly brownish-gray retained juvenal coverts and remiges (primaries and secondaries) and brownish-gray primary coverts with no bluish edging.

Despite the retention of juvenal rectrices, tail shape is unhelpful for ageing in this species. The tail of the HY bird above in early September is showing broad, rounded retained juvenal rectrices.