| White -breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinenss |
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| This little nuthatch creeps headfirst down tree trunks and her favorite place is on my garden fence. She is my favarite bird by far, I love to watch her go tumbling upsidedown she has a dark gray or black cap. her face is beautifully white and she has white underparts also She has blue-gray upper parts. Long bill either straight or slightly upturned. She is13-14 cm (5-6 in) Wingspan: 20-27 cm (8-11 in) Weight: 18-30 g (0.64-1.06 ounces) Sexes similar; male with black cap, female with grayer cap. Her song is a series of soft, slightly nasal "what, what, what" notes. Call a soft "yank. Nuthatches gather nuts and seeds, jam them into tree bark, and hammer or "hatch" the food open with their bills. The White-breasted Nuthatch is normally territorial throughout the year, with pairs staying together. The male is more vigilant when he forages alone than when he is with the female. The female, however, is in danger of having the more dominant male displace her from foraging sites, and she is more vigilant when he is around than when she is alone. In winter, the White-breasted Nuthatch joins foraging flocks led by chickadees or titmice. One explanation for these flocks is that the birds gain protection from predators by the vigilance of the other birds. In support of this idea, one study found that if titmice were removed from a flock, nuthatches were more wary and reluctant to come to exposed bird feeders. |
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