Red-breasted Nuthatch Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesRed-breasted Nuthatch
Adult male
Compact bird with a very short tail, almost no neck, and a sharp bill. Sharply marked with a black crown, white eyebrow, and black eyeline. Blue-gray above and rusty below.
© Blair Dudeck / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, January 27, 2020Adult female
Barrel-chested and compact, these active birds move up, down, and around tree branches and trunks. Females have grayer caps and paler rusty underparts.
© Simon Boivin / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, March 31, 2020Adult female
Often makes its own nest holes rather than using pre-existing cavities. Both males and females help in excavation. Rarely uses nest boxes.
© Benjamin Clock / Macaulay LibraryWest Virginia, May 25, 2013Not all videos have sound
Adult male
A frequent visitor at seed and suet feeders.
© Bob Martinka / Macaulay LibraryMontana, March 14, 2017Adult male
Compact bird with a short tail. Blue-gray above with a sharply marked black-and-white face. Clings to trees with its feet, moving up, down, and around tree trunks, often heading downward in a zigzag pattern.
© Tom Devecseri / Macaulay LibraryOntario, April 12, 2018Adult male
Stout, no-necked bird with a long, sharply pointed bill. Adult males have a dark black cap and rusty underparts.
© Sam Zhang / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, January 24, 2021Adult male
Moves up, down, and around tree trunks and branches pulling out insects from bark or seeds from cones.
© Edward Boyd / Macaulay LibraryMaryland, December 06, 2020Adult male
Found primarily in evergreen forests of spruce, fir, pine, hemlock, larch, and western red cedar. Eastern populations use more deciduous woods, including aspen, birch, poplar, oak, maple, and basswood.
© Kristen Johnson / Macaulay LibraryPennsylvania, September 11, 2016Similar SpeciesWhite-breasted Nuthatch
Adult
White-breasted Nuthatches are larger than Red-breasted Nuthatches and they lack the Red-breasted's black eyeline and cinnamon belly.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, February 22, 2011Similar SpeciesPygmy Nuthatch
Adult
Pygmy Nuthatches lack the Red-breasted Nuthatches white eyebrow and black eyeline.
© Gordon Karre / Macaulay LibraryWashington, March 13, 2017Similar SpeciesBrown-headed Nuthatch
Adult/immature
Brown-headed Nuthatches don't have the Red-breasted Nuthatches white eyebrow or black eyeline.
© Shelley Rutkin / Macaulay LibraryNorth Carolina, March 17, 2017Similar SpeciesBrown Creeper
Adult/immature
Brown Creepers have longer tails and are browner above than Red-breasted Nuthatches.
© David Turgeon / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, April 25, 2017Similar SpeciesBlack-and-white Warbler
Adult male
The Black-and-white Warbler forages along main trunks and branches, but is heavily streaked all over, without the solid gray back or rusty underparts of a Red-breasted Nuthatch.
© Mark Farrell / Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, April 28, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Nuthatches(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Sittidae)
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