White-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta carolinensis
Nuthatch family (Sittidae)

Habitat:
Deciduous forest.

Description:
About the same size as the Tufted  Titmouse, 5” long.  Dark crown and nape, white face,   gray back, short tail.  Distinctive habit of feeding – creeps headfirst down tree trunks. 

Nesting:
Nests in natural cavities in living trees.  Also uses old woodpecker holes.  Rarely excavates its own cavity. 
Eggs are white with dark marks.  Clutch size – 6 eggs.

Voice:
Call is a series of low nasal “ank ank” notes.

Name Origin:
Sitta, sitte, Greek for “nuthatch”; carolinensis, for “of Carolina”, although it breeds throughout the United States.  “Nuthatch”, from “hack”, for bird’s tendency to wedge a large nut into a crevice and hack it into small pieces.

In the Nature Park:
Year-round resident.  During winter, White-breasted Nuthatches occur in mixed-species foraging flocks with Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, and Downy Woodpeckers.