Birds › Northwest forest › Red-breasted Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta canadensis

Smears sticky pine resin around its nest hole, probably to keep out predators and other birds.

Where to see it for real: Sunflower seed, peanuts and suet, close to conifers.

Spot it in the game

Lives in the Northwest forest habitat (Pacific Northwest, Washington State).

Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis — Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0, via iNaturalist. Cut out from the original photo.

Red-breasted Nuthatch facts

Family: Nuthatches
Length: 4.3 in (11 cm)
Wingspan: 8.3 in (21 cm)
Weight: 0.4 oz (10 g)
Diet: Insects and conifer seeds.
Range: Conifer forests of Canada, Alaska, the western mountains and the Northeast; some winters it moves far south.
Nest: A hole it digs in soft dead wood, with sticky resin around the entrance.
Song: A nasal "yank-yank", like a tiny tin horn.
Active: by day
Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: widespread and not at risk.

What the Red-breasted Nuthatch sounds like

Recording 1: Doug Hynes, CC BY-SA 4.0, original on xeno-canto. Trimmed and cleaned of low background noise.

Recording 2: Jonathon Jongsma, CC BY-SA 3.0, original on xeno-canto. Trimmed and cleaned of low background noise.

How to attract the Red-breasted Nuthatch

Feeder foods, favorite first: sunflower seed, suet, peanuts. Feeders that hold them: tube feeder, platform feeder and suet cage. Keep a bird bath full, too.

In the game: fill a feeder with sunflower seed, suet and peanuts and keep the bird bath full. It is a common visitor.

More: bird songs and calls, what to feed birds.