BirdBrain Academy

Nuthatches · Sittidae

White-breasted Nuthatch sounds

Sitta carolinensis

A medium-sized, chatty North American nuthatch with blue-gray upperparts, whitish underparts, and a nasal voice.

Learn bird sounds freeMore White-breasted Nuthatch recordings
White-breasted Nuthatch
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Listen to the White-breasted Nuthatch

Each recording below is a short excerpt with its spectrogram, a picture of the sound. Time runs left to right and higher pitches sit higher up. Play each one, then look for the same shape in the next. Different recordings of the same bird help you learn the bird, not one clip.

Song · recording 1 Spectrogram of a White-breasted Nuthatch song: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Richardson Nature Center, Hennepin, Minnesota, 2013-02-03. XC121070 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 3.0. Five-second excerpt.

Call · recording 2 Spectrogram of a White-breasted Nuthatch call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Minnesota Valley NWR, Cliff Fen, Dakota, Minnesota, 2014-01-12. XC164792 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 3.0. Five-second excerpt.

Call · recording 3 Spectrogram of a White-breasted Nuthatch call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Minnesota Valley NWR, Bass Ponds, Hennepin, Minnesota, 2013-02-03. XC121069 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 3.0. Five-second excerpt.

What to listen for

The White-breasted Nuthatch has a noisy, nasal voice with repeated whistles and cries. The male's mating song is rapid and nasal, while pairs give thin squeaky contact calls most often in fall and winter.

Many listeners write its call as “qui-qui-qui-qui-qui-qui-qui”. Treat a written sound as a memory aid; individual birds and regions vary.

When you are most likely to hear it: Contact calls are given most frequently in fall and winter..

What it looks like

The White-breasted Nuthatch is a medium-sized nuthatch with a large head, short tail, short wings, a powerful bill, and strong feet. Adults have pale blue-gray upperparts, a dark cap, white face and underparts, and black outer tail feathers marked with broad white bands.

Where to find it

It breeds in woodland across North America, favoring old-growth open deciduous or mixed forest in the east and open montane pine-oak woodland in the west and Mexico. Adults usually remain on territory year-round and often travel with small mixed flocks in winter.

BirdBrain regions that include this bird

  • California
  • Eastern Canada
  • Florida
  • Great Lakes
  • Mexico
  • Mid-Atlantic
  • New England
  • Northwest
  • Plains
  • Polynesia
  • Rocky Mountains
  • Southeast
  • Southwest
  • Texas
  • Western Canada

Did you know?

  • Pairs remain together year-round until one partner dies or disappears.
  • It removes feces from the roost site in the morning.
  • In very cold weather, up to 29 birds have been recorded roosting together.

Learn the White-breasted Nuthatch by ear

BirdBrain Academy teaches bird sounds with side-by-side listening and quizzes that use different recordings, so you learn the bird rather than one clip. Start with six free lessons, no signup needed. On your phone, Sound ID can name the birds singing around you.

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Related birds

Species notes are adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and checked for BirdBrain. Recordings come from xeno-canto under the licenses shown with each one. Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Identification guidance is educational; birds vary, so confirm unusual sightings with local experts or eBird.