White-breasted Nuthatch

The White-breasted Nuthatch is a bird I've talked about before, but they're photogenic enough to warrant more posts [1]. In my area, this is probably the bird most likely to be (erroneously) described as a "blue woodpecker" (discussed a bit here) due to their foraging for insects on the trunk of a tree, and even for using/expanding tree cavities previously used by woodpeckers. Despite some foraging/nesting similarities, the nuthatches are more closely related to sparrows, ravens, and thrushes than they are to woodpeckers.

The White-breasted Nuthatch can adroitly climb down a tree trunk, a handy skill to have but one that can be a problem depending on what other birds are using that tree. In my picture, the nuthatch is sharing a feeder with 1 of our chickadees, and no collisions were detected.

January 26, 2023 at Duke Farms
Photo 263364887, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] Of course, I also consider snapping turtles and jumping spiders to be photogenic; individual tastes will vary.

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