Nimble Nuthatches

I glanced out the door the other day to see what the 'outside' cats were up to and who was around.  None of the cats were, but caught a glimpse of a nuthatch on the patio looking for seeds.  I hadn't seen any nuthatches in ages.  I used to see them when I put bird food around my tree during the winter.  There was a little table out there and the cats would hide under the table waiting for the birds to come down for the food.  Needless to say, I stopped the practice.  Even though they were around, I've never seen them by the bird feeder or suet I put out.  But they are getting closer.

Source:  Pictures of Birds

I have the white-breasted nuthatches around here. There are several subspecies, but is found in one form or another throughout the majority of the U.S., southern Canada and western Mexico.  The red-breasted nuthatch is more commonly found in the western U.S., northern New England and ranges further north into Canada.

Source:  Wikipedia

Nuthatches mainly eat insects in warmer weather when they're available and seeds in the colder months, and, of course, nuts whenever it can find them.  It gets its name from its habit of sticking a nut in a tree bark crevice and 'hacking' at the shell until it gets the nut out.

Nuthatches are called songbirds, but that term is a little doubtful because the call of a nuthatch is not all that musical.  Nuthatches are one of the few birds that can go down a tree trunk head first.

There are over 20 species of nuthatches and they are found from southern Europe, India, the Middle East and throughout Asia.  Other species found in the U.S. are the Pygmy Nuthatch...

Source:  Wikipedia

which is only about four inches long, and this striking little Brown-headed nuthatch.

Source:  Wikipedia

To see a video of a white-breasted nuthatch, click here.