Red-breasted Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch at the top of a Ponderosa pine tree.

NPS Photo / Rachel Ames

Size: 4.5”
Description: Blue-gray on the back and wings, rust to orange underparts, a black cap, black stripe through the eye, and white just above and below the eye.
Migratory Status: Year-round residents of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Habitat: Prefer spruce-fir, aspen and other coniferous forests to 11,000 feet. Abundance fluctuates depending on seed crop.
Diet: Eat a variety of insects and seeds that they glean from tree trunks and branches.

 

• Red-breasted Nuthatch (

  
  

  Red-breasted Nuthatch "song" recorded on the Allenspark Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park.

  Credit / Author:

  J. Job

  Date created:

  06/01/2016

  Audio Transcript

  Transcript due 4/1/2025

 

• Red-breasted Nuthatch (call)

  
  

  Red-breasted Nuthatch call recorded on the Black Canyon Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park.

  Credit / Author:

  J. Job

  Date created:

  05/26/2016

  Audio Transcript

  Transcript due 4/1/2025

 

• Red-breasted Nuthatch (call)

  
  

  Red-breasted Nuthatch call recorded on the Gem Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. Note that a Mountain Chickadee can also be heard in the recording.

  Credit / Author:

  J. Job

  Date created:

  06/22/2015

  Audio Transcript

  Transcript due 4/1/2025

 

• Red-breasted Nuthatch (

  
  

  Red-breasted Nuthatch "song" recorded on the Spruce Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park.

  Credit / Author:

  J. Job

  Date created:

  06/10/2015

  Audio Transcript

  Transcript due 4/1/2025

 

• Red-breasted Nuthatch (call and

  
  

  Red-breasted Nuthatch call and "song" recorded on the Sun Valley Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. Note that a Yellow-rumped Warbler can also be heard in the recording.

  Credit / Author:

  J. Job

  Date created:

  06/23/2015

  Audio Transcript

  Transcript due 4/1/2025