Wild Child: Who do I see walking DOWN the tree trunk?

Have you noticed a compact little bird walking up AND down the tree trunks looking for food?

We see white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatches regularly in our area. They are easy to spot because they are one of the few birds you will see walking down a trunk. Most birds will move upward and fly to go lower on a trunk. Once you see one, listen for its call, a series of same pitched wha-wha-wha’s or a repeated yank call. Once you can recognize this particular bird you will be able to enjoy it’s unique way of exploring the trees.

White-breasted nuthatch stands on a branch. The white cheeks and belly, with rusty rear markings are visible.

A red-breasted nuthatch stands on a branch. The black cap, white eyebrow, and black eye-line are clearly visible, as is the rusty belly.

Size/Shape

These birds are compact with red-breasted nuthatches being noticeably smaller than the white breasted nuthatch. Both have almost no neck, a sharp pointy narrow bill, and short tail.

Colour

The white-breasted nuthatches have white cheeks and white bellies with rusty patches near their rears, their backs are blue-grey. Males have black caps while the females have dark grey caps. The red-breasted nuthatches have black caps, a white eyebrow, and a black eye-line. Their backs are blue-grey and their bellies are rusty coloured.

Behaviour

Both types of nuthatches run sideways and upside down on branches and trunks without worrying about which was is up.

Habitat

White-breasted nuthatches prefer the edges of deciduous forest while red-breasted nuthatches prefer coniferous forest.

More information

Learn more about the White-breasted nuthatch here and the Red-breasted nuthatch here.

Written by Tandy Morton, Wild Child Outdoor Playgroup Facilitator