Nucifraga
columbiana
(Clark's
Nutcracker)
Physical
Description:
12-13" (30-33 cm). Black
wings and tail with large white patches; gray body with white undertail coverts;
dark bill and eyes.
Similar Species- Gray Jay, Pinyon Jay
Song:
A
guttural kraa-kraa, and a repeated, dry krak-krak-krak-krak-krak
Distribution:
Resident
from central British Columbia, southwestern Alberta, western and central Montana,
and western and southeastern Wyoming, south through mountains of central Washington,
eastern Oregon, and central and eastern California and Nevada, to northern Baja
California. Also present in Rockies to east-central Arizona and southern New
Mexico. Wanders irregularly beyond normal range.
Habitat:
Found in open
coniferous
forests and in forest
edges and clearings (primarily in mountains, but also in lowlands in winter).
Preliminary results of Idaho-Montana study suggest Clark's Nutcrackers are more
common in rotation-aged than old-growth Douglas-fir stands.
Diet:
Pine seeds are primary food
for both adults and nestlings, but individuals will also eat insects, acorns,
berries, snails, carrion, and, sometimes, eggs
and young of small birds.
Ecology:
Builds cup-shaped
nest in tree. Takes food from foliage. caches food; nearly all winter
food, and much of breeding season food, is derived from pine seeds collected
and stored in fall. May travel in large flocks (25-100 birds).
Reproduction:
Both sexes
incubate 2- 6 eggs (usually 2-3),
for 17-18 days. Young leave nest at 24-28 days.
Conservation:
| Element Code: | ABPAV08010 |
| Status: | Protected nongame species |
| Global Rank: | G5 |
| State Rank: | S5 |
| National Rank: | N5 |
Important
State References:
Hejl, S.J.
and R.E. Woods. 1990. Bird assemblages in old-growth and rotation-aged Douglas-fir/Ponderosa
pine stands in the northern Rocky Mountains: a preliminary assessment. Pp. 93-100
in D.M. Baumgartner and J.E. Lotan, eds., Proceedings of a Symposium on Interior
Douglas-fir: the species and its management. Feb. 27, 1990, Spokane WA.