Brown-headed Nuthatch

Pygmy Nuthatch

Scientific Name: Sitta pygmaea

Population Estimate: 2M

Range / Habitat: Year-round resident of montane forests in the American West and down into Mexico.

Field Notes: Stocky nuthatch with disproportionately large bill. Black eye stripe, grey head and back, white belly with subtle orange wash. Range does not overlap with Brown-headed Nuthatch. Red-breasted Nuthatch has white supercilium and red belly. White-breasted Nuthatch larger with plan white face.

Personal Notes: Seen while hiking at Devil's Tower National Monument.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Scientific Name: Sitta carolinensis

Population Estimate: 10M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Year-round in mature forests and forest edges throughout most of the US, southern Canada, and into Mexico. 

Field Notes: Typical nuthatch behavior. Frosted black cap, white face and underparts, bluish-gray back and wings.

Personal Notes: A hard little bugger to photograph. 

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Scientific Name: Sitta canadensis

Population Estimate: 18M

Range / Habitat: Red-breasted Nuthatches are mainly birds of coniferous woods and mountains. Look for them among spruce, fir, pine, hemlock, larch, and western red cedar as well as around aspens and poplars.

  
Field Notes: Characteristic nuthatch behavior / perch (climbing down a tree) with long, slightly upcurved bill and dark eye stripe. The Boundary Waters was southernmost area of distribution for summer for this bird as compared to White-Breasted Nuthatch. It is common throughout Minnesota in the winter. It is also much smaller than the White-Breasted Nuthatch. 

White-breasted Nuthatch