Bird Food Preferences

Black-oil sunflower, striped sunflower, suet, sunflower hearts, and whole peanuts

Bird Feeder Preferences

Tube, hopper, platform, peanut, and suet

Bird House Specifications

White-breasted Nuthatches use nest boxes.  Check out the Bird House Dimensions page to learn how to build a bird house specifically for White-breasted Nuthatches.

Plants to Attract

Woody Plants: Hawthorn, oak, and ponderosa pine; Non-woody Plants: Sunflower

Description

White-breasted Nuthatches can be found throughout most of the United States and parts of Canada and Mexico.  They are common in mature deciduous woods including parks, suburbs, and yards.  Nuthatches can be seen walking head first down a tree, and they are often found in foraging flocks consisting of chickadees and titmice.

White-breasted Nuthatches are on average five inches in length and weigh around one ounce.  They have gray-blue backs with white faces.  Their underparts are white except for a portion under their tails that is reddish-brown.  Males have black caps and females have gray caps.

The female builds the nest in a natural hole or one created by woodpeckers.  She lines the cavity with bark and dirt and then builds a cup-shaped nest of grass and feathers.  Nuthatches will use bird houses and often reuse their cavity.

Similar species

Black-capped Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Carolina Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Tufted Titmouse