Red-breasted Nuthatch

Bold, quick and energetic, the Red-breasted Nuthatch is in the same family (Passeriformes) as the White-breasted Nuthatch but seen less often in our area.

A small, compact bird with a long, pointed bill, the Red-breasted Nuthatch has a short tail and almost no neck. It is blue-gray with a black cap and stripe through the eye broken by a white stripe over the eye. The underparts are a rust color.

Red-breasted Nuthatches are mainly found in coniferous forests and mountains. Look for them in fir, pine, spruce, hemlock, larch and western red cedar trees. In northeastern North America, they are also found in deciduous trees.

In summer, Red-breasted Nuthatches eat mainly insect, beetles, caterpillars, spiders and ants, and they feed their young the same diet. They also eat from feeders, taking peanuts, sunflower seeds and suet.

They move quickly and in any direction across tree trunks and branches. They rely on the large claw on their one backward-pointing toe to maintain their grip.

During courtship, males have a soft, musical song. In courtship display, the male turns his back toward the female, lifts his head, droops his wings and sways from side to side.

Nuthatches are among the few non-woodpeckers that excavate their own nests from solid wood. Red-breasted Nuthatches collect resin globules from coniferous trees and plaster them around the entrance to the nest hole. The male plasters outside the hole; the female inside the hole. The resin may keep out predators or competitors. The nuthatch avoids the resin by diving directly into the hole.

Northernmost populations of the Red-breasted Nuthatch migrate south for the winter, but other populations may not come south at all. Red-breasted Nuthatches can be irruptive (not normally found in an area). They move south when pine cone production is poor in breeding areas.

Sightings in our area may be in two- to three-year cycles. This winter was a banner season for Red-breasted Nuthatches in the Lehigh Valley.