Red-breasted Nuthatch Photo Gallery
Adult male
Compact bird with a very short tail, almost no neck, and a sharp bill. Sharply marked with a black crown, white eyebrow, and black eyeline. Blue-gray above and rusty below.
© Blair Dudeck / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, January 27, 2020Adult female
Barrel-chested and compact, these active birds move up, down, and around tree branches and trunks. Females have grayer caps and paler rusty underparts.
© Simon Boivin / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, March 31, 2020Adult female
Often makes its own nest holes rather than using pre-existing cavities. Both males and females help in excavation. Rarely uses nest boxes.
© Benjamin Clock / Macaulay LibraryWest Virginia, May 25, 2013Not all videos have soundAdult male
A frequent visitor at seed and suet feeders.
© Bob Martinka / Macaulay LibraryMontana, March 14, 2017Adult male
Compact bird with a short tail. Blue-gray above with a sharply marked black-and-white face. Clings to trees with its feet, moving up, down, and around tree trunks, often heading downward in a zigzag pattern.
© Tom Devecseri / Macaulay LibraryOntario, April 12, 2018Adult male
Stout, no-necked bird with a long, sharply pointed bill. Adult males have a dark black cap and rusty underparts.
© Sam Zhang / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, January 24, 2021Adult male
Moves up, down, and around tree trunks and branches pulling out insects from bark or seeds from cones.
© Edward Boyd / Macaulay LibraryMaryland, December 06, 2020Adult male
Found primarily in evergreen forests of spruce, fir, pine, hemlock, larch, and western red cedar. Eastern populations use more deciduous woods, including aspen, birch, poplar, oak, maple, and basswood.
© Kristen Johnson / Macaulay LibraryPennsylvania, September 11, 2016Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Nuthatches(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Sittidae)
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