The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a small, rusty-bellied nuthatch of coniferous forests with a bold black eye stripe and cap. It applies sticky conifer resin around its nest cavity entrance — a behavior thought to deter predators and competitors. In years when cone crops fail in the boreal zone, it undertakes dramatic southward irruptions, flooding US feeders and lowland forests.
Habitat
Conifer and mixed forests; feeders during irruption winters
Diet
Conifer seeds, insects, and suet at feeders
How common
Common
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