Sitta
canadensis
(Red-breasted Nuthatch)
Physical
Description:
4 1/2-4 3/4"
(11-12 cm). Slate- to blue-gray back, wings, and tail; black and white striped
head; rusty below.
Similar Species- White-breasted and Pygmy nuthatches.
Song:
A
high, nasal yaank yaank yaank; referred to as sounding like a tin horn.
Distribution:
Breeds
from southern Alaska, east across portions of Canada, and south to southern
California, southern New Mexico, western South Dakota, Minnesota, northern Ohio,
southern Appalachians, and in isolated areas farther south. Winters throughout
most of breeding range and irregularly in Gulf Coast.
Habitat:
Found in coniferous
and mixed forests and
aspen woodlands. During migration and in winter, also found
in deciduous forests, open woodlands,
parks, scrub, and riparian woodlands. Preliminary
results of an Idaho-Montana study indicated these birds favored rotation-aged
Douglas fir stands over old-growth stands.
Diet:
Eats mainly conifer
seeds and insects.
Ecology:
Nests in excavated cavity in standing
snag or hollow tree. Forages over trunks and branches.
size varies from 4-7 eggs,
but is usually 5-6. Incubation lasts 12 days. Young are tended by both parents,
and leave nest at 18-21 days.
Conservation:
| Element Code: | ABPAZ01010 |
| 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.