Bird Directory

Red-breasted Nuthatch	Bird Name: Red-breasted Nuthatch
	Field Marks: The back of the male Red-breasted is steel blue while the under parts are rusty red. It has a black cap and a white face. You will see a black line on the side of its head that runs through the eye. The female is similar in color but paler. This bird is smaller than a sparrow with a short tail.
	Feeder Food: Sunflower seeds, cracked nuts and, suet
	Natural Food: Insects, insect eggs and larvae, spiders, seeds, nuts, berries
	Behavior: You may see the Red-brested Nuthatch walking down a conifer tree head first. It can crack open nuts to find its meal. First, it wedges the nut into the bark of the tree. Next, it pecks and pecks until the nut opens. Song: enk, enk, enk (high and nasal)

Pictures were reproduced by permission.

Sources:

Alden, Peter and Brian Cassie, National Audubon Society Field Guide To New England, New York: Alfred A.Knopf, 1998.

Dawe, Neil and Karen, The Bird Book, New York: Workman Publishing, 1988.

Forbush, Edward Howe, Birds of Massachusetts, Norwood, Massachusetts: Norwood Press, 1929.

Reed, Chester R., Bird Guide: Land Birds East of the Rockies, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1951.

Return to Bird Directory Main Page.

Return to Index Page.