Rufous-striped Nuthatch
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Rufous-striped
Nuthatch, Sitta rufescens
L 12 cm, WS 18-20 cm, Family: Sittidae
IUCN Conservation Status: Least concern (LC)
Description:
Small,
compact bird with long and sharply pointed bill, short tail, and short, broad
wings. Slate blue-gray above and orangish red below, with a strikingly
patterned head: a rufous crown and eyeline stripe separated by a white stripe
and whitish to cream colored cheeks and throat. Tail and wings tipped black.
Sexes similar, females often slightly paler. Often seen clinging upside-down to
tree trunks and branches. Red colored stripes help distinguish this bird from
the mainland’s Red-breasted Nuthatch.
Voice:
Though
quite vocal, no clear distinction between calls and song exists. Typically
gives a fast series of nasally sounding notes, often written as
“yank-yank-yank” which sounds somewhat like nasal laughter. Series usually
consists of 7-8 notes, and the series is repeated often, sometimes 15-16 times
per minute. Usually quite loud, the calling can be heard from far distances,
but they will also give a quiet, “whisper” call, which sounds similar but is
instead extremely quiet. Pairs will often communicate with one another by using
single “yank” notes.
Range and Habitat:
Range
encompasses most of Novasola, they can be found in any forest ecosystem including
temperate rainforest, conifer, mixed, and deciduous forests, dry pine and
juniper stands, and oak savannah. They are much less common in areas with few
trees like scrubland and are absent in prairies. Rufous-striped Nuthatches are
also found in man-made habitats like yards, gardens, and parks and will
commonly visit feeders.
Discussion:
A
common bird of Novasolan forests and suburbs, the Rufous-striped Nuthatch is a
recognizable and charismatic bird, and the only nuthatch on the island. Their unique
foraging behaviors, laugh-like sounds, and short, undulating flights make them
distinct and unlikely to be confused for any other birds on the island.
The
Rufous-striped Nuthatch’s spring and summer diet is comprised mostly of insects
and other invertebrates such as beetles, caterpillars, spiders, ants, worms,
and aphids. During the fall and winter they will eat more seeds, especially
conifer seeds. Frequent visitors to bird feeders, they prefer sunflower seeds,
peanuts, and especially suet. Nuthatches are known for their distinctive
foraging style, where they will cling to the bark of a tree trunk or branch,
similar to woodpeckers but usually facing downward toward the ground, and hop
around the tree searching for food in the cracks and crevices of the bark. Their
strong legs and sharp claws allow them to better cling to the tree’s surfaces. They
often start high in a tree’s canopy and slowly spiral their way down until they
reach near the ground and move to the next tree. They use their pointed bills
to probe crevices in the bark or to pry open cones to reach the seeds, and they
will often be seen wedging food into tree bark before hammering at them with
their bills to chip away smaller pieces. Nuthatches are also known to store
food in the winter in a similar manner, wedging it into bark crevices and then
covering it up with bark, moss, or lichen. They can often be found foraging in
mixed flocks with other birds, especially chickadees and kinglets.
Monogamous,
Rufous-striped Nuthatches mates bond for life. Courtship involves males
performing a simple dance for the female by spreading its wings and swaying back
and forth. Like all nuthatches, they are cavity nesters, and like the
Red-breasted Nuthatch, they will often create their own cavities in trees,
though many pairs will opt instead to use pre-existing holes. Females will
excavate the nest hole while the male brings her food, and once complete the
male will also often smear resin or sap around the cavity opening, which is
thought to help deter nest predators like squirrels, jays, or rival nuthatches.
Only the female incubates eggs, but both sexes feed and raise the chicks.
Though
the Rufous-striped Nuthatch population has overall seen declines since white
settlement of Novasola, especially in heavily logged areas, these drops have
been relatively minor, and somewhat paradoxically their range has expanded to
take advantage of human plantations, orchards, and other anthropogenic food
sources.
The
small and somewhat comical Rufous-striped Nuthatch may not be the most exotic,
beautiful, or outlandish bird on Novasola, but for what it lacks in uniqueness
it makes up in simple charm. Closely related to the Red-breasted Nuthatch of mainland
North America, it fills roughly the same ecological niche on the island. Their commonness
and understated magnetism has captivated Novasolan inhabitants for centuries.
"In the bustle of modernity it is often we forget that our Creator has granted us the eternal gifts of nature and of contemplation, which serve us best when paired. We forget, until some outside reminder, to bask in glories we are previously oblivious to.
This morning I had one such awakening, when I met a Ms. Roberts, herself enraptured by the sounds of a nearby Nuthatch. To her it seemed the bird's cheery honking was a herald of great joy and a primal medicine of sorts, a remedy to unwelcome times and unwelcome emotions. I had, until this conversation, not thought twice about any nuthatch, but I welcomed her enthusiasm and will no doubt remember the gift Ms. Roberts and the Nuthatch in me revived." - Paul Sibyl, Cedar Chapel, 1945
“Persistent,
active, and of buoyant character is the Rufous-striped Nuthatch, which goes
about its work with no observable breaks. They flutter, with heavy wingbeats
and slow, falling motions, from tree to tree throughout the forest country in
an honest and eager search for food. The nuthatch distinguishes itself from
other tree-clinging birds on Novasola by the manner of its activity. The
nuthatch will move about the branches, and indeed central trunk, taking all
sorts of positions to search every nook and crevice, often probing and picking with
its upturned bill, aiming to find what insects or larvae lay hidden underneath.
In their search they will start near the tops of trees, or out on exposed
branches, and work their way, with notable quickness, rootward. Should they
reach the ground unsatisfied, they might rework their way back up on another
route, or they might abandon the tree and move on to another.
…
Common
as it is the Rufous-striped Nuthatch is familiar to all other forest inhabitants,
who in turn are familiar to the nuthatch. So observant to its surrounds is the
nuthatch that it seems to understand the communication of chickadees and jays, with
which they often flock, such that they react appropriately to the various alarms
of the other species. Despite this, or perhaps as a result of this, they can
come off as care-free to potential threats in the form of man. Not oblivious to
but certainly careless of or unbothered by human activity, they allow men to
approach and, undisturbed, the nuthatch will carry on its business regardless
of the man’s proximity so long as he keeps to himself. This makes the nuthatch
a joy to study and encounter, especially regarding witnessing more natural
behaviors, as any observer would be lucky to meet any other bird with such
indifference.” – Native Birds of Novasola, 1912