Sitta canadensis

Description

A red-breasted nuthatch is a small bird with a black and white striped face, a pale orange front, and a gray back and wings. It has a short dark tail with two white diagonal stripes.

Voice

The call of the red-breasted nuthatch is "ink" and sounds like a tin horn. Its song is "eeeen eeeen."

Breeding

April to July

Habitat

This little bird likes evergreen and mixed (evergreen and deciduous) woods.

Diet

Red-breasted nuthatches eat insects, spiders, and seeds (especially pine, fir, and spruce).

Range

You can find red-breasted nuthatches year-round in Canada, the northern and western United States, and the Appalachian mountains. They winter in the rest of the United States.

Other Useful Information

These birds usually like to be alone, but sometimes they will join flocks made up of other small songbirds.

Similar Species

The white-breasted nuthatch is very similar to the red-breasted nuthatch, but the white-breasted nuthatch is larger and has a white face and a white front.