Nuthatches

The name nuthatch comes from the old English word "nuthack," which referred to the bird's eating habits: When nuthatches eat a sunflower seed or a nut, they often wedge it into a bark crevice and hack it open.

The bird could also have been named "nut-store," since it often takes food from the feeder and stores it in bark crevices for later use, even covering the stored food with a piece of bark or lichen. You can easily see them do this if you follow them when they leave your feeder.

Other birds have been known to steal the hidden food. The little thieves!

Pictured here is a Red-breasted Nuthatch.

"Ank ank"...this is given by male and female all year. When given as a simple "ank ank," it is usually a contact note between the pair. When given as a long series of rapid "anks," it is probably a response to some disturbance.

"ip ip"...this is a very high, quiet sound given between the pair as they move about the woods, feeding close together. It is a close-distance contact call that helps them keep track of each other.

"Werwerwerwer"...this rapid series of notes is the song of the male nuthatch. It is usually given from high in trees in late winter or spring when the birds are beginning their courtship.

Red-breasted and White-breasted nuthatches have similar behaviors, but the sounds of the Red-breasted are distinicitve. Its most commom sound is a nasal "meep meep."

If you hear excited, rapid "ank" calls, you will probably find two or more nuthatches with their heads down and back feathers ruffled moving about near each other on a tree trunk. They may also spread their tails and slightly open their wings or chase after each other in flight. These are aggressive encounters between two males or two females in a spot where their ranges overlap.

White-breasted: Nuts and seeds in Fall and Winter; also insects in Spring and Summer.

Red-breasted: The seeds of pnes, firs, and spruce, mixed with a diet of insects, insect eggs, and larvae.

The White-breasted Nuthatch: One of the most common of all backyard and garden species in the East and Midwest, this Nuthatch relishes sunflower seeds and suet.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch: Sunflower seed and suet are favorite foods. Conifer will attract Red-breasted Nuthatches, too (they rarely use birdhouses).