Clark's nutcracker, also known as Clark's crow, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to the mountains of western North America. The nutcracker is an omnivore, but subsists mainly on pine nuts, burying seeds in the ground in the summer and then retrieving them in the winter by memory. The bird was described by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, with William Clark first observing it in 1805 along the banks of the Salmon River, a tributary of the Columbia River.
Region
Western North America
Typical Environment
Occurs in subalpine and montane conifer forests from British Columbia and Alberta south through the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, and Rocky Mountains into the Great Basin and the Southwest. Strongly associated with whitebark, limber, and pinyon pines, it forages in open forests, ridgelines, and burned areas. In poor cone years it may wander widely to lower elevations and plains. Outside breeding season it frequents picnic grounds and campgrounds where it may scavenge.
Altitude Range
500–3700 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Clark's nutcracker forms a remarkable mutualism with high-elevation pines by caching thousands of seeds, many of which germinate into new trees. It can carry large loads of seeds in a specialized sublingual pouch and retrieve caches months later using excellent spatial memory. The species was first documented by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805. Its caching behavior allows it to nest early in late winter, feeding young from stored seeds.
Original illustration of Clark's nutcracker by Alexander Wilson
In Deschutes National Forest
Clark's nutcracker feeding on seeds of pines
Clark's nutcracker landing, Mount Hood, Oregon
A Clark's nutcracker nestled on a branch at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.
Temperament
bold and inquisitive
Flight Pattern
strong direct flight with steady wingbeats and gliding
Social Behavior
Often seen in family groups and small flocks, especially around productive pine stands. Pairs are monogamous and may maintain long-term bonds. Nests are built early in the season in conifers on sheltered branches; chicks are fed largely from cached seeds.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
Vocalizations are loud, harsh, and nasal, with repeated kraaah and krrrk calls that carry over long distances. Also gives rattles and softer chatter near nests. Not a melodious singer, but highly distinctive.
Plumage
Smooth ash-gray body with contrasting black wings and tail, accented by bold white wing patches and white outer tail feathers.
Diet
Primarily consumes pine seeds from whitebark, limber, and pinyon pines, which it extracts by prying open cones. Caches tens of thousands of seeds annually in shallow soil or under debris for later use. Supplements diet with insects, berries, small vertebrates, carrion, and occasionally eggs or nestlings.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in subalpine pine forests, open rocky slopes, recent burns, and forest edges where cone crops are accessible. Also forages on the ground where caches are buried and may visit human-use areas to scavenge.
