Brown-headed nuthatch
Sitta pusilla
L 3½″
Habitat: Clearings and areas that have been burned (more old stumps available for nesting) in southern pine woods are preferred by brown-headed nuthatches. They can also be found in mixed pine and hardwood forests of extreme southeastern United States (Bent 1948).
Nest: Brown-headed nuthatches excavate or partially excavate nest cavities 4.5 to 8 inches deep in dead trees and stumps (often fire blackened) or posts and poles. Bent (1948) gave little evidence that the brown-headed nuthatch will use old woodpecker holes, but they may enlarge and use natural cavities. The nests are located 3 to 46 feet from the ground (only rarely above 13 feet). Because nest entrances are more like a crack in a tree than rounded like a woodpecker hole, nests are difficult to find (Pearson 1936).
Food: Brown-headed nuthatches are mainly insectivorous, and are considered a useful protector of trees. They search for insects and their eggs in crevices of the bark on the trunks, branches, twigs, and needles of pines. They also eat pine seeds (Bent 1948).