I saw this sassy cute little White-breasted Nuthatch the other day high in the Oaks in the yard at my lake house. The nuthatch was chatting away. It has a sound that is a soft and thin, clipped “chip-chip” or “Chiff-chiff” that is repeated. The nuthatches eat insects but also eat seeds, nuts and sometimes, fruit. The bird has a long slender bill, similar to that of the woodpeckers. The habits of this bird are similar to those of woodpeckers, too. Nuthatches have long curved claws which they use to climb up down and even upside down on branches and tree trunks. They use that long bill to ferret-out insects from the bark of trees and also to push seeds and nuts into crevices in the bark for storage.
The White-breasted Nuthatch is a light grey with lots of white on its underside. It is a small bird. They hang around with other small birds such as chickadees, finches, titmice and sometimes, the smaller woodpeckers. I took these pictures on December 23, 2011 in my yard at the lake home. Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture. Enjoy!
Comments on: "A Chatty White-breasted Nuthatch" (7)
you’ve got some good shots of his open mouth and his long claws, too!
Hi Texwisgirl, Thanks! The little guy was just quite vocal while I was watching him. Have a great day!
They do make some cute sounds, great captures of the WB Nuthatch!
Hi Eileen, Many thanks! Have a safe and great day tomorrow!
They are just so cute!!! And they do hang out with the titmice and chickadees. I love the way the walk facing down on a tree trunk. But it makes sense, they can see where they are going!
Hi Ginny, Great observation. Thanks! I appreciate all of your fun, informative and most considerate comments here! Have an excellent and safe day tomorrow!
They are nice to see. There are still a few here along with the finches, sparrows, chickadees and juncos. “Sassy” is a pretty good word for them!