Mnemonic description of song:
Hey hey hey
quank/ yank
anh-anh-anh-anh-… (nasally)
tooy-tooy-tooy-tooy…
wee-wee-wee-wee-…
who-who-who-who-…
what-what-what-what
wha-wha-wha
What do we know about white-breasted nuthatch song?
Repertoire:
- Sing in late winter and spring, quiet in breeding season and summer (Kilham 1972)
- Two rates of same song: slow song and fast song (related to level of excitement)
- Slow song: 9-11 (6-8 for some authors) notes of same pitch (Ritchison 1983)
- Fast song: 16-26 (20-30 for some authors) notes (Ritchison 1983)
Females:
- Do not sing (Ritchison 1983)
How and when is song acquired?
No information found.
How can we facilitate learning?
- Since singing doesn’t occur in breeding season and summer and no information is known about how song is learned, the only recommendation is to raise orphans outdoors hearing sounds and song of species typical for area
Grubb Jr., T. C. and V. V. Pravosudov (2020). White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whbnut.01
Kilham, L. (1972). Reproductive behaviour of White-breasted Nuthatches. 2. Courtship. Auk 89(1): 115-129.
Ritchison, G. (1983). Vocalisations of the White-breasted Nuthatch. Wilson Bull. 95: 440-451.