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Also see Nest ID Matrix (contents) and Egg ID Matrix (color, spots, etc.)
To see other cavity nester bios/photos:
 White-breasted nuthatches (WBNU) nested in this box belonging to Paul Murray. WBNU’s usually prefer to nest in natural or woodpecker cavities in large trees.
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 WBNU nest. Notice bark and fur. This nest is in a large, 2-hole mansion.
Nest description: nest base may be about 1/2″ of bark (flakes and strips) and pellets of dried earth or lumps of mud. Matted nest of bark shreds, small twigs, grasses, rootlets, with a little fur, hair, feathers, cellophane, cigarette butts. Cup may be saucer shaped. |
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| Photo below is a closeup of the top of the nest. Lots of fur. | ||
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 WBNU nest in box above. Photo by Paul Murray. Photo below in a different box, by Bet Zimmerman. |
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 WBNU eggs. Photo by Paul Murray.
Egg description: Shell smooth, very little gloss, white (can be creamy or pinkish-white), usually heavily marked with light cinnamon brown/red/ lavender/gray speckles and spots, often denser at larger end. Subelliptical to short subelliptical. |
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 WBNU eggs in hanging box on Hill trail. Photo by Bet Zimmerman. |
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 WBNU eggs. Photo to left and below by Zell Lundberg in Coaldale, CO (different nests). These eggs are less heavily spotted than the ones above. |
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 WBNU eggs in a different nest in Woodstock, CT. See side view of nest below. This nest is in a regular NABS style box mounted on a tree. |
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 WBNU nestlings – may have just hatched (female was brooding.) Photo by Bet Zimmerman. |
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 Left: Young WBNU nestlings by Murray. Notice the long legs. Below: Photo by Zell Lundberg, 2 beaks visible (there were 4 eggs) – maybe 3-4 days old. |
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 WBNU nestlings, age uncertain (eyes are not open). Unbelievable stretch. Below, same nestlings hunkered down. Photos by Bet Zimmerman. |
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 About a week old. Photo by Bet Zimmerman. |
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 11 days old. Photo by Murray. The black cap is starting to be visible. |
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 NOT an attractive stage. Photo by Bet Zimmerman. |
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 Two remaining nestlings, ready to fledge. Photo by Paul Murray. Still a little tufty up top (residual natal downy feathers that are still attached to the incoming feathers of a juvenile.) |
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 Three young had already fledged, two left. Nest materials are visible in this photo by Paul Murray. Notice short tail feathers. |
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 Top view of a nuthatch nest after fledging. Flat, furry, with some fecal material. Photo by Bet Zimmerman. |
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 Fledgling. Photo by Paul Murray. WBNU fledglings can climb ably, but can not fly well. Their breast is whiter than an adult. |
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 WBNU adult. Photo by John Beaudette. They are common visitors at feeders, and also enjoy suet and mealworms. |
The student of Nature wonders the more and is astonished the less, the more conversant he becomes with her operations; but of all the perennial miracles she offers to his inspection, perhaps the most worthy of admiration is the development of a plant or of an animal from its embryo.
-Thomas Henry Huxley, British biologist and educator. Reflection #54, Aphorisms and Reflections, selected by Henrietta A. Huxley, Macmillan, 1907.
