Scientific Name:   Sitta carolinensis

Length:   5.1-5.5 in (13-14 cm)

Weight:   0.6-1.1 oz (18-30 g)

Wingspan:   7.9-10.6 in (20-27 cm)

Nest:   White-breasted Nuthatches typically build their nests in natural tree cavities or abandoned woodpecker holes. They sometimes enlarge these holes but rarely excavate them entirely on their own. Females build the nest on their own, lining the nest cavity with fur, bark, and lumps of dirt. She then builds a nest cup of fine grass, shredded bark, feathers, and other soft material. White-breasted Nuthatches often reuse their nest holes in subsequent years.

Eggs:   5-9, rarely 10. White, spotted with reddish-brown. Female incubates, is fed on nest by male. Incubation period 12-14 days.

Feeding Behavior:   White-breasted nuthatches are omnivores, eating insects and seeds. In winter they eat nearly 70% seeds, but in summer it is mainly insects. The insects consumed by these birds include caterpillars, ants, and pest species such as pine weevils, oyster shell, and other scale insects, and jumping plant lice. At feeding stations, they eat nuts, suet, and sunflower seeds.

Young:   Both parents feed young. Age when young leave nest uncertain, or perhaps quite variable; reported as 14-26 days.

Range:   White-breasted nuthatches occur across North America, from southern Canada to northern Florida and southern Mexico. In the eastern part of their range, these birds prefer to live in old-growth open deciduous or mixed forests, including orchards, parks, suburban gardens, and cemeteries.

Brief Description:   The adult male has pale blue-gray upperparts, a glossy black cap, and a black band on the upper back. The wing coverts and flight feathers are very dark gray with paler fringes, and the closed wing is pale gray and black, with a thin white wing bar. The face and the underparts are white. The outer tail feathers are black with broad diagonal white bands across the outer three feathers, a feature readily visible in flight.