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Among the largest of the world's nuthatches, White-breasted nuthatches also are noteworthy for an extensive repertoire of unusual behaviors and habits. Unlike most other North American passerines, White-breasted nuthatches maintain close pair bonds over most of the year. In spring, they cement their pair bond by exhibiting a variety of courtship displays. Elaborate display rituals also are used in antagonistic territorial interactions, and distraction displays are used to deter predators. The White-breasted nuthatch is common in western Oregon lowlands. It is most abundant in southwestern interior valleys, with specimens from Salem to Jackson County. It occurs in oak and mixed
A constant chatter of high-pitched staccato tidi tidi tidi or tideet tideet calls coming from the canopy of ponderosa pine forests east of the Cascade Range is a sure sign of the presence of this tiny, highly active, social nuthatch. Measuring only 3.75-4 inches long, this stubby mite is the smallest and plainest of the three western U.S. nuthatches. This is a tree-bark clinger that has a woodpecker-like bill for probing bark, opening seeds, and cavity excavation. The Pygmy nuthatch forages all the tree surfaces from the trunks to the outer- and top-most needles and cones. The Pygmy nuthatch is
Brown creepers are the only North American birds that rely on both the trunk and bark of trees for both nesting and foraging. They are small birds, about five inches in length, and have a long, slender, down-curved bill used to probe for insects hidden in the furrows of tree bark. Their brown back, streaked with white, makes creepers on of the best-camouflaged girds of the forest. They most often forage upward from the base of a tree, using their long, stiff tail for support. The Brown creeper breeds and winters throughout forested areas of Oregon, from the coast to
Secretive little birds, wrens creep through vegetation and take flight in erratic patterns. Kinglets are insectivores.
Even in the most barren and desolate reaches of the Great Basin, the cheerful song of the hardy Rock wren will contradict any notion that the desert is devoid of life. This specialist of cracks and crevices can be found almost anywhere there is exposed rock. One of its most unique features is the mysterious pebble path is constructs from its stone-cave nest to the outside entrance. Drab and pale overall, the gray head and back, white to tawny underparts, and gray tail with buff-tipped corners distinguish this species from other wrens. The Rock wren is a common breeder in
This eloquent wren is admired for its sweet, descending, liquid notes that echo off canyon walls. It is distinguished from other wrens by its gleaming white throat set off by gray head, rusty brown underparts and back, and bright rufous tail. Appreciated as it is, this is one of our least studied birds in part due to its frequently inaccessible habitat: cliffs, rimrock and deep canyon walls. It is a fairly common but local breeder in Oregon east of the Cascade summit; restricted to rocky cliffs or outcrops. It is more dispersed after breeding season west of known breeding range
The song of this wren is often mistaken for the Song sparrow in the thickets and open woodlands where it resides. When in view, however, its long tail, thin bill, and white line above its eye are distinctive. Found in a variety of habitats, it readily takes advantage of cleared forest grown to large shrubs, especially blackberries. It is a permanent resident west of the Cascades, in Klamath and Warner basins, and along the upper Columbia River and tributaries. Hear the song of the Bewick's wren Photo by David Hoffman, Flickr
