Red-breasted Nuthatch

Perhaps the most abundant birds in our yard are Red-breasted Nuthatches. I took this photo of a young nuthatch this spring. Judging by its gray crown, it is a female. The species is common across North American boreal forests south into the United States through the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. They winter, often in large numbers (depending on food crops and, perhaps, in a ten-year cycle) almost everywhere except the very deep South. Their fondness for firs and spruces sets them apart from other native nuthatches.