Nuthatches are one of my favourite birds! In part because of their extraordinary ability to walk headfirst down trees – a rare behaviour among North America birds. It’s not just a quirky talent; it’s a survival strategy and a testament to the diverse ways that birds have evolved to exploit their environments. This post talks about how nuthatches do this and why it’s important to their survival.
How Do They Do That!?
First, nuthatches are not actually “walking” down the tree. They are hanging from foot to foot, but they do it so seamlessly that it appears as if they are walking.
They’re able to move like this because of their strong toes and legs. Nuthatches have four toes. Three of them face forward and one faces backwards. This backwards facing toe is called the hallux. It’s longer than the other toes and is shaped like a claw that curves downwards. This strong claw-like toe helps nuthatches cling to the bark of a tree while facing the ground.
Other birds, like woodpeckers and brown creepers, brace themselves to trees with the help of their tail feathers. Sometimes you’ll see them briefly walk downwards, but they’re not adapted to it like nuthatches. It’s akin to humans trying to walk backwards—it’s doable but not our usual way of getting around, and it’s definitely awkward.
Why Do They Do That?
As for why nuthatches do this, the leading theory is that walking upside down gives them a different perspective while foraging. This alternative perspective makes it easier for them to find food missed by other birds. According to John Eastman, “a foraging nuthatch typically flies from the base of one tree to the top of another, working the trunks from the top down.” Occasionally, nuthatches will climb up a tree as well.
Climbing downwards is an important skill because nuthatches often join other birds in winter flocks. Winter flocks offer increased protection from birds of prey and other predators. I see nuthatches most often with black-capped chickadees and downy woodpeckers. They are also known to hang out with tufted titmice and brown creepers. These birds forage in different ways minimizing the competition for food. For instance, woodpeckers and brown creepers forage by travelling up a tree. Nuthatches will pick up food items that they miss and vice versa.
More About Nuthatch Foraging
Nuthatches cache nuts and seeds to subsist on in the winter months. They get their name from the way that they open a nut or seed. They’ll wedge them in a crevice and hammer them open with their bills.
According to Ornithologist Noble Proctor, “If you have a feeder in your yard it is not uncommon to hear pounding on the side of your house early in the morning as a bird jams the seeds in between shingles and then pounds them to split the hard coat.” In the summer months, nuthatches eat insects, eggs, larvae, and spiders.
Other Posts You May Enjoy
Feeding Chickadees and Chickadee Facts
Why Do Birds Sing in the Early Morning?
Sources
The Eastman Guide to Birds: Natural History Accounts for 150 North American Species by John Eastman.
Songbirds: How to Attract Them and Identify Their Songs by Noble Proctor
Thank you for this post. It helped me identify (and understand) the nuthaches in my backyard.
Thanks for letting me know, I’m glad it helped. 🙂
I discovered these unique little birds at our feeder a few years ago, and when mentioning it to a friends who enjoy many different birds at their feeders, Hi was told they were nuthatches….one came to our feeder just a few minutes ago so I decided to do some research about them…
Wonderful to discover new things! Thank you for expanding my knowledge of birds.
Although we haven’t seen them yet, we’ve had a small dark blue bird (our neighbors say they fly up north from Mexico, but I haven’t been able to find out any information about them. They start appearing sometime in June.
On a funny note, we were late filling the hummingbird feeders and a few attempted to “feed” on our decorative tree on the deck (the lights look like little flowers).
Hi Gail, thanks for your comment! I love hearing about all the birds that come to people’s feeders. 🙂 The nuthatch is such a sweet little bird. I love how they forage upside down on trees. I wonder what the small dark blue bird visiting you might be. I hope you keep seeing them! All the best, Jenna.
Our back yard in north-central Arkansas is a haven for wild birds. Nuthatches congregate with titmice, gold finches, hairy and downy woodpeckers, pileated and red-bellied woodpeckers, yellow-bellied woodpeckers, northern cardinals, eastern bluebirds, blue jays, mourning doves, summer tanagers, and a host of other back-yard featered friends. We feed all of them suet and black-oil sunflower seeds. The woodpeckers and bluejays favor the suet, while the rest gobble up the seeds. They are such a pleasure to watch. We also have hummers, but they are very seasonal, coming around in late spring and staying until around October before flying south. Enjoyed your article here on the nuthatches. I love their little ank-ank-ank call.
Hi Frank! Your backyard sounds like a dream with all those birds! We have a lot of the same species where I’m living in New Brunswick, Canada. That said, I don’t see many in my backyard. I especially love northern cardinals and blue jays – they have such beautiful colours. Thanks for commenting and letting me hear about your lovely backyard birds. All the best, Jenna
I always thought this to be true as well. There’s some claim that 2 tree creepers and 3 woodpeckers have this skill as well. I googled what North American birds can go down a tree headfirst. The result claimed 9 species including 4 nuthatches. I’m crushed.
Thanks for your comment! I knew other species of nuthatches could do it, but what I read was other birds not so much. Your comment sent me researching again – which is always a great thing! I think, I found the source you are talking about. I checked on the tree creepers again and I’m quite confident that they only climb upwards. They may be able to take a few steps downwards, but this isn’t natural for them and they certainly don’t forage that way. The Audubon society says that woodpeckers can also take a few steps, but again, they are are not well adapted to climbing downwards so they will instead fly down to the base of a tree and make their way up – that’s also what I’ve observed. I don’t know if that restores some of your crushed spirit or not, haha. Thanks again for sharing!
I have seen all of our woodpeckers walk forward and backwards on our trees and more often on our fence. They visit our yard almost daily.
Cool! What kinds do you see!? They’re generally much better adapted to moving up trees than down.