Red-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta canadensis
They are one of the few birds that can descend tree trunks head-first, moving in a spiral or zig-zag pattern.
- Scientific name
- Sitta canadensis
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Sittidae › Sitta
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Primarily coniferous forests of spruce, fir, and pine, occasionally mixed woodlands.
- Diet
- Insects and spiders during breeding season; conifer seeds, especially from cones, during winter.
- Range
- Canada, United States, Mexico (winter)
- Size
- 11 cm long; wingspan of 18-21 cm
- Lifespan
- 2-5 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss due to logging of old-growth conifers and climate-driven shifts in forest composition.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. These active birds are safe to observe from a distance. Avoid approaching nesting cavities to prevent stress. If you find a grounded fledgling, leave it be; if injured, contact a local wildlife rehabilitator.
The red-breasted nuthatch ( Sitta canadensis ) is a small songbird. The adult has blue-grey upperparts with cinnamon underparts, a white throat and face with a black stripe through the eyes, a straight grey bill and a black crown. Its call, which has been likened to a tin trumpet, is high-pitched and nasal. It breeds in coniferous forests across Canada, Alaska and the northeastern and western United States. Though often a permanent resident, it regularly irrupts further south...
Photo: Claude Lyneis, CC0, via iNaturalist
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