The brown-headed nuthatch is a small songbird endemic to pine forests throughout the Southeastern United States. Genetic analyses indicated low differentiation between northern and southern populations in Florida, but the study also found lower genetic diversity among south Florida populations that may be a result of the increased habitat fragmentation that was documented. The Bahama nuthatch was formerly considered a subspecies (S. p. insularis), has since been reclassified as its own separate species. Two recent studies assessing vocalizations in Bahama and continental nuthatch populations found important differences. One of the studies also demonstrated that continental and Bahama populations did not respond aggressively to calls of the other population. This type of call-response study is often used to help define cryptic species.
Region
Southeastern United States
Typical Environment
Occurs from eastern Texas and Oklahoma across the Gulf States through Florida and north into the Carolinas and parts of Virginia, with strongholds in longleaf, loblolly, and shortleaf pine forests. It favors open, mature pine savannas, pine flatwoods, sandhills, and selectively thinned or burned pine stands, and also uses pine plantations when a midstory is sparse. Snags and softened dead limbs are important for nesting cavities. It generally avoids dense hardwood forests and heavily urbanized areas but may visit parks with large pines. Landscape-scale fire management sustaining open pine structure is critical to its persistence.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 800 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This tiny nuthatch is closely tied to pine ecosystems and often depends on fire-maintained longleaf pine savannas. It is one of the few birds known to use tools, sometimes prying insects from bark with flakes of pine. The Bahama nuthatch, once treated as a subspecies, is now recognized as a separate species based on vocal and behavioral differences. Providing nest boxes and conserving mature pine with standing dead trees (snags) benefit local populations.
At Ash, North Carolina
A Brown-headed Nuthatch perches on a pinecone (South Carolina, 2025).
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with brief undulating bouts
Social Behavior
Pairs hold year‑round territories and often engage in cooperative breeding, with helpers assisting at the nest. They excavate or enlarge cavities in dead pine stubs and will use nest boxes. Outside the breeding season they form small family groups and join mixed-species flocks with chickadees and titmice. They cache seeds and insects in bark crevices and defend core foraging areas.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A series of high, squeaky, rubber‑ducky–like notes, often given in rapid sequences. Calls include thin, nasal peeps and squeaks used to keep contact within family groups. Songs carry well through open pine stands but are relatively soft compared to larger nuthatches.
Plumage
Compact nuthatch with blue‑gray upperparts, pale whitish underparts, and a warm brown head and nape. Shows a neat, contrasting small whitish spot on the nape, and clean, crisp coloration without heavy streaking. Wings and tail are slate to blue‑gray with subtle edging.
Diet
Feeds primarily on arthropods such as beetles, caterpillars, and spiders gleaned from pine bark, twigs, and needles. In fall and winter, seeds from longleaf, loblolly, and other pines become important, and birds often cache items under bark scales. Occasionally takes suet and sunflower chips at feeders in pine-dominated neighborhoods. Foraging is active and methodical, frequently hanging upside down to probe bark crevices.
Preferred Environment
Forages on trunks, branches, and cones of mature pines in open stands with scattered snags. Uses recently burned areas and thinned forests where bark and cones are accessible. Less commonly feeds in mixed pine–oak, generally staying where pine is dominant.
