Red-breasted Nuthatch Identification

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.

Adult 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.

Adult female

Often makes its own nest holes rather than using pre-existing cavities. Both males and females help in excavation. Rarely uses nest boxes.

Adult male

A frequent visitor at seed and suet feeders.

Adult 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.

Adult male

Stout, no-necked bird with a long, sharply pointed bill. Adult males have a dark black cap and rusty underparts.

Juvenile

Adult male

Adult male

Moves up, down, and around tree trunks and branches pulling out insects from bark or seeds from cones.

Adult 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.