White-breasted nuthatch

The white-breasted nuthatch is the bird that walks down trees headfirst. Compact and quick, with a blue-grey back, a dark cap, and a clean white face and breast, it works its way along trunks and branches as if gravity were optional. This small, bold bird creeps headfirst down tree trunks, a habit that lets it find insects other birds miss. It has a blue-grey back, a white face and breast, and a black cap, and its nasal, repeated call carries through mature forests.

Nuthatches get their name from the way they wedge seeds and nuts into bark and hack them open with their bill. They are curious, busy visitors to feeders, often grabbing a single seed and flying off to tuck it away for later. Many stay in Manitoba through the winter, and their nasal, repeating call is easy to pick out in a quiet wood. Nuthatches stay in Manitoba year-round, wedging seeds and nuts into bark crevices to store for later and happily visiting feeders in winter.

Because they climb down as well as up, nuthatches see bark crevices that other birds miss. That is why the upside-down view is the one I look for most. Here are some of my favourite frames of this bird.

Photos

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