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Red-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta canadensis
Audubon Illustration
John James Audubon, Birds of America (1827-1838). Public domain.
Range & Recent Observations
Last Spotted Near You
About the Red-breasted Nuthatch
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 if its food supply fails. There are records of vagrants occurring as far south as the Gulf Coast and northern Mexico. It forages on the trunks and large branches of trees, often descending head first, sometimes catching insects in flight. It eats mainly insects and seeds, especially from conifers.
Source: Wikipedia
Classification
- Scientific name
- Sitta canadensis
- Family
- Nuthatches
- Order
- Passeriformes
Similar species
Other members of the nuthatches family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.
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Optics
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