White-breasted nuthatch
The largest nuthatch, a head-down trunk climber of shaded woods.
NPS calls the white-breasted nuthatch the largest of the nuthatches, though still small at about 5.1 to 5.5 inches. It has a large head, almost no neck, a short tail and a narrow, straight or slightly upturned bill, with a gray-blue back, white face and underparts, a black or gray cap and a chestnut lower belly.
It prefers shaded deciduous and mixed conifer forest, eating mostly insects in summer and seeds in winter. Listen for its 'ik' and 'ik-up' calls mixed with tapping as it probes bark.
It is agile, often hanging sideways or upside down along trunks while probing for insects under the bark. The red-breasted nuthatch is smaller and prefers conifers, so compare habitat as well as face pattern.
How to recognize it
Gray-blue back, white face and underparts, dark cap; often upside down on trunks.
Watching and staying safe
Scan trunks of mature trees from the trail.
Places the sources name
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