The Urban Pantheist

Photos by cottonmanifesto

Urbpan species #075: White-breasted nuthatch Sitta carolinensis

When I hear the rapid nasal call of the white-breasted nuthatch, I think, "what's so darn funny?" They aren't really laughing, but it does sometimes sound that way. Their sound is what will most likely draw your attention to them, since they are so stealthy in their movements. They circle tree limbs and trunks, working their way down, head first, probing the crevices in the bark for insects. Winter is when they are most conspicuous, dividing their time between finding pupae overwintering in rough bark furrows, and visiting birdfeeders to take away suet and sunflower seeds. One will take a seed back to the bark to wedge it in, and use its bill to open the husk (or "hatch the nut").

In winter nuthatches join mixed flocks of chickadees and titmice. These alert little bird species band together to form groups that are much more likely to detect predators than they would on their own. The white-breasted nuthatch is the most common urban nuthatch in North America. The red-breasted nuthatch (S. canadensis is a less-common North American species that needs conifer forest habitat, and the European Nuthatch (S. europea) is found in gardens and parks throughout England and the rest of Europe.

( a couple more views )