White-breasted Nuthatch Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Song (Eastern)
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West Virginia, January 05, 1996Recorded by Wil Hershberger | Macaulay Library
Calls (Eastern)
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Maryland, November 13, 1999Recorded by Wil Hershberger | Macaulay Library
Calls (Eastern)
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New York, March 16, 1991Recorded by Steven R. Pantle | Macaulay Library
Song (Interior West)
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California, May 30, 2002Recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller | Macaulay Library
Song (Interior West)
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Colorado, June 10, 1993Recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller | Macaulay Library
Song (Pacific)
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California, April 29, 1991Recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller | Macaulay Library
Calls (Pacific)
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California, May 10, 1991Recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller | Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Songs

Male White-breasted Nuthatches sing in late winter and spring, a rapid, nasal, fairly low-pitched wha-wha-wha that lasts 2-3 seconds. It’s made up of a half-dozen to a dozen nearly identical notes. Males sing these songs at two rates, with the faster version packing in twice as many notes in the same amount of time. The fast version is thought to be the main one used for mate attraction.

Calls

The White-breasted Nuthatch’s most common call is a loud, nasal yank often repeated a few times in a row. Both sexes make this call, and it often has a more trembling, almost bleating quality, than either the bird’s song or the Red-breasted Nuthatch’s call. When looking for food, males and females exchange a soft yink.