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Red-breasted Nuthatch Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Song
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New York, April 25, 2020Recorded by Martha Fischer / Macaulay Library
Song
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California, June 05, 1991Recorded by Dave Herr / Macaulay Library
Song
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New York, June 23, 2013Recorded by Matthew D. Medler / Macaulay Library
Calls
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New York, May 31, 1999Recorded by Wil Hershberger / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Nebraska, December 22, 2019Recorded by Chris Wood / Macaulay Library
Calls
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California, October 19, 2019Recorded by Paul Fenwick / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Maryland, December 28, 1997Recorded by Wil Hershberger / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Songs

Red-breasted Nuthatches sing a fast series of nasal, hornlike notes that sound like yank-yank. Songs can have 6 or more of these notes each, and the songs themselves can be repeated up to 16 times per minute. It’s unmated males that sing this most frequently. Males and females sometimes sing a similar but slower and harsher version of this song when they are defending their territory.

Calls

The yank note can also be given as a call by both sexes (though more often by the male) as a way of communicating between the pair. This note can be sped up until it sounds like a vibrating trill, typically given from near the nest just at the end of nest excavation or beginning of egg-laying. During confrontations, chases or copulation, nuthatches may make a phew call, and agitated birds sometimes make a wrenlike scolding call.

Compare with Similar Species

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White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Black-and-white Warbler

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Species in This Family

Nuthatches(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Sittidae)

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Browse Species in This Family

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