White-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch has surged: up 170% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the White-breasted Nuthatch
A stocky, blue-gray bird that creeps headfirst down tree trunks, the White-breasted Nuthatch is a common resident of mature woods and shaded yards.
- Size
- 5–5.5 in long, about 0.7 oz (13–14 cm, 21 g)
- Habitat
- Woodlands and forest edges, including wooded suburbs and parks.
- Diet
- Insects and spiders from bark crevices, plus seeds and nuts it wedges and hammers open.
- Range
- Recorded on 2,664 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 48 states, most concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Family
- Sittidae · Forest birds
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Notable White-breasted Nuthatch Trends
White-breasted Nuthatch has surged in surveyed states: up 170% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
White-breasted Nuthatch Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, White-breasted Nuthatch is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 2.1 (95% range 1.8–2.5). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±5%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.4 |
| 2026 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 2.4 |
| 2027 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.4 |
| 2028 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.4 |
| 2029 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.5 |
Where the White-breasted Nuthatch Is Detected
BBS routes recording White-breasted Nuthatch, sized by most recent count.
White-breasted Nuthatch Population Trend by State
| Alabama | +642% | 1968 | 68 |
| Arizona | +166% | 1970 | 33 |
| Arkansas | +525% | 1969 | 50 |
| California | +66% | 1970 | 169 |
| Colorado | +210% | 1972 | 93 |
| Connecticut | +152% | 1968 | 20 |
| Delaware | +608% | 1979 | 10 |
| Florida | -12% | 1975 | 12 |
| Georgia | +204% | 1974 | 68 |
| Idaho | -91% | 1976 | 15 |
| Illinois | +688% | 1968 | 103 |
| Indiana | +493% | 1968 | 68 |
| Iowa | +129% | 1969 | 34 |
| Kansas | 24× | 1969 | 50 |
| Kentucky | 12× | 1968 | 64 |
| Louisiana | -21% | 1970 | 15 |
| Maine | +257% | 1968 | 64 |
| Maryland | 11× | 1968 | 66 |
| Massachusetts | +351% | 1968 | 32 |
| Michigan | +143% | 1968 | 104 |
| Minnesota | +496% | 1969 | 86 |
| Mississippi | +558% | 1970 | 38 |
| Missouri | +247% | 1969 | 91 |
| Montana | -74% | 1973 | 36 |
| Nebraska | +238% | 1969 | 46 |
| Nevada | insufficient data | n/a | 3 |
| New Hampshire | +234% | 1968 | 26 |
| New Jersey | 11× | 1968 | 38 |
| New Mexico | +272% | 1971 | 32 |
| New York | +103% | 1968 | 128 |
| North Carolina | +410% | 1968 | 101 |
| North Dakota | +300% | 1970 | 21 |
| Ohio | +603% | 1968 | 87 |
| Oklahoma | +339% | 1969 | 48 |
| Oregon | -32% | 1970 | 69 |
| Pennsylvania | +277% | 1968 | 135 |
| Rhode Island | +579% | 1969 | 5 |
| South Carolina | +353% | 1969 | 39 |
| South Dakota | +639% | 1976 | 29 |
| Tennessee | 21× | 1968 | 55 |
| Texas | +132% | 1970 | 42 |
| Utah | -36% | 1980 | 32 |
| Vermont | +9% | 1968 | 26 |
| Virginia | +153% | 1968 | 85 |
| Washington | -71% | 1970 | 33 |
| West Virginia | +100% | 1968 | 63 |
| Wisconsin | +92% | 1968 | 98 |
| Wyoming | -87% | 1976 | 34 |
White-breasted Nuthatch Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Northern Pacific Rainforest | -64% | 1970 | 49 |
| Great Basin | +20% | 1970 | 72 |
| Northern Rockies | -72% | 1970 | 89 |
| Prairie Potholes | +122% | 1970 | 64 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | +101% | 1968 | 121 |
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | +200% | 1968 | 85 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | +105% | 1968 | 142 |
| Sierra Nevada | -62% | 1970 | 35 |
| Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau | +142% | 1971 | 149 |
| Badlands and Prairies | +205% | 1975 | 46 |
| Shortgrass Prairie | +402% | 1992 | 11 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | 12× | 1969 | 66 |
| Oaks and Prairies | +411% | 1969 | 36 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | +407% | 1968 | 270 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | +124% | 1968 | 160 |
| Central Hardwoods | +880% | 1968 | 165 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | +231% | 1969 | 65 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | +675% | 1970 | 25 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | +391% | 1968 | 186 |
| Appalachian Mountains | +263% | 1968 | 401 |
| Piedmont | +584% | 1968 | 154 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | +516% | 1968 | 138 |
| Coastal California | +93% | 1970 | 89 |
| Sonoran and Mojave Deserts | +38% | 1978 | 3 |
| Sierra Madre Occidental | +120% | 1970 | 28 |
| Chihuahuan Desert | +179% | 1977 | 10 |
White-breasted Nuthatch Conservation Status
Least Concern
The IUCN Red List rates this species as Least Concern. Our route-weighted index shows it up about 170% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.