Clark's Nutcracker 



Dick Follett 



Red-breasted Nuthatch 



Dean E. Biggins 



RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH (Sitta canadensis) 



The nuthatch is a small bird with a long, slightly upward-turned bill and 

 short legs set far back on its stubby body. Unlike other birds which patrol 

 the tree trunks, the nuthatch moves about without the aid of its tail. Fur- 

 thermore, the red-breasted nuthatch not only moves^laterally and upward, 

 it also may be seen crawling down a tree trunk in jerky, circular spirals. 

 This species feeds largely on bark insects and their larvae. It varies its diet 

 with seeds and nuts. The nuthatch nests in a hole in a dead conifer or 

 conifer snag, and displays the unique ability of flying directly into the 

 nest cavity. The call of the red-breasted nuthatch is a nasal, oft-repeated 

 "ank," which resembles the sound produced by a little tin horn. Red- 

 breasted nuthatches breed in relatively open stands of lodgepole pine and 

 Douglas-fir in Yellowstone and Grand Teton, 



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