When we compare chickadee vs nuthatch, we do not aim to prove one is more superior than the other in any way. These two birds are apparently two of the cutest avians flying about along Mother Earth’s bosom. In fact, the Red-breasted nuthatch and the Black-capped chickadee spend a lot of time together– they are almost best friends!
There are a number of defining moments, and moments where the differences blur. It is at these blurred occasions that a dilemma is born. However, after reading this article, all your confusion about these two similar looking birds will vanish. What will remain is refined knowledge and a developed curiosity to know about these avians even better.
Contents
Chickadee vs Nuthatch: At-A-Glance
Chickadees are cute little passerines belonging to the family called Paridae, under the genus Poecile. Their black crowns and black throat patch are their signature characteristics, and are present consistently across all seven species. Canada and the United States enjoy regular sightings of these birds, and they can also be found in Eurasia.
Source: @wildly.unfiltered
Source: @madame_fayn
Nuthatches belong to the family called Sittidae, and genus Sitta. Their large heads, and strong beaks and feet, make them look intimidating and territorial. Nuthatches have 15 different species, strewn all across the world ranging from North America, to Europe and Asia. Nuthatches are known for their beautiful blue-gray backs and red or yellow bills.
Chickadee vs Nuthatch: Similarities
One distinct similarity is the presence of black crowns and black eyes in these two families of birds. They are also about the same size. Rusty orange or bright orange coloration on their chests is also an aspect that throws bird lovers into a deep dilemma.
They both can sing harmoniously and can be spotted close to humans in the backyards, munching peacefully from the feeders. Insects, seeds and berries make up a huge portion of both the passerines’ diet during harsh winter conditions. Additionally, tree cavities are frequented by both the birds for nesting purposes. So, how do you differentiate between them?
Comparing Nuthatch vs Chickadee: Difference Table
Below, you will find a table that lists out the defining differences between the two birds in question. We will read more elaborately about them, a little later.
| Features | Chickadee | Nuthatch |
| Cap and Throat | Black cap and throat | Black and blue caps, white or buff throat |
| Eyes | Black eye stripes | May or may not have black eye stripes, white eyebrows |
| Tail | Long and thin tails | Short and stubby tails |
| Size and Body Shape | Small, round, puffy | Large, long, streamlined |
| Body Color | Usually black and white; occasionally buff underparts | Black, white, buff, bright orange, bluish-gray, bright blue |
| Calls | chick-a-dee-dee-dee | whee whee, wha wha, yank yank, trills, whistles |
| Feeding Behavior | Excellent memory, can cache more than 80,000 seeds | Can hang upside down, climb downward a tree-trunk, finds out places that other birds cannot reach |
| Social Behavior | Very social | Less social, they flock mainly for protection |
Differences Between Nuthatch And Chickadee Explained
Now let’s look at each difference more elaborately to discover the generalities and the specifications. Whenever you are comparing two similar-looking birds, approach with an open mind for there are exceptions everywhere.
Source: @bluesgarden1
Cap and Throat Color
Chickadees can be spotted, even from a distance, very easily. Just look for a black cap and a black throat– all species of chickadees share that feature. There is a deep black patch of black on their head, that extends to the back of the neck, and the throat. It looks like they are wearing a black scarf. Boreal and Chestnut-backed chickadees have a deep brown cap that, however, looks black from a distance.
You may argue, well, nuthatches have black caps too. Yes, most of them, like the white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatches, have a black cap on their head. However, Western-rock, Chestnut-bellied and Velvet-fronted nuthatches have light blue to bright blue caps. Also, in nuthatches, the black cap does not extend to the back and the throat.
Their backs are usually bluish-gray and their throat white to off-white. Nuthatches may also have buff or light orange around their throat that chickadees do not have.
Eyes
Chickadees flaunt another characteristic physical feature that defines them, and that is, their eye patches or eye-stripes. They do not have any white eyebrows, and their black eyes are completely hidden by a black patch or coloration that runs across. As such, their eyes seem invisible. This is one feature that runs, without miss, across all the species of chickadees.
Nuthatches, on the other hand, may or may not have black stripes running across their eyes. Most of the species have white colored eyebrows that make the outline of the eyes visible. To add, White-breasted, Velvet-fronted, Beautiful, and White-cheeked chickadees do not have black patches around their eyes so their eyes are prominently visible.
In case you are wondering, yes, there is a nuthatch species called “Beautiful” with the scientific name Sitta formosa. They are large nuthatches measuring 6.5 inches in length.
Tail
Chickadees have longer and thinner tails, as compared to the ones of nuthatches. Their tails have fewer feathers, thus lighter and appear leaner. The tail feathers are mostly grayish-brown in appearance, with subtle white edges and streaks.
The colors of chickadees are not very distinct or sharp– they resemble a watercolor painting of a rainy day, where the hues are all intermingling with each other.
Nuthatches, on the contrary, have shorter and stubbier tails. Their tails contain more feathers and are heavier. The colors on the tail are mainly black and white, with the stripes being quite sharp and distinct. This stubby tail helps them climb trees in an upside-down manner.
Size And Body Shape
Chickadees are small in comparison to nuthatches. They are often affectionately termed as “cute” by bird watchers and chickadee lovers. They are 5.9 inches long, standing 2.5 inches high above the ground. As they spread their wings to catch insects, their wingspan measures somewhere between 6 to 8.3 inches. They weigh 0.4 ounces. They look round and puffy.
Nuthatches are quite big in size. They are 7.7 inches long, 3 inches tall, weighing about 0.6 to 1 ounces. When they get tired of hanging upside-down from bird feeders and spread their wings, their wingspan is estimated to be between 7.5 to 10.5 inches. Overall, they are 1-2 inches or ounces larger than chickadees in all aspects. They also look more streamlined.
Source: @birdsacrosstheglobe
Body Color
In this segment we will discuss the colors of the other parts of the bird’s body, other than the cap and throat that have been talked about earlier. Chickadees are mostly black and white in appearance, and the colors are quite hazy and not distinct.
They have puffy, white chests, and one of their most adorable features is their white cheeks. However, Chestnut-backed chickadees have bright orange backs, chests and undersides.
Don’t they have any other coloration on their body? Well, they do, depending on the species in question. Boreal chickadees have light orange or buff sides. Some species have other colors for undersides, like the Mexican one has light orange undersides and Pere David’s tit has bright orange undersides. The rest are more or less black, white and gray in appearance.
This presence of orange coloration in certain species of chickadees make it difficult for bird lovers to distinguish between them and nuthatches. This is because nuthatches usually flaunt brown or orange coloring on their undersides, including chest and belly. This is one of their characteristic physical features.
The Eurasian, Red-breasted, Chestnut-bellied, and Algerian nuthatches all have light orange to bright orange chest and underbelly. Yes, talk about confusion.
However, one feature that sets the orange chickadee and nuthatches apart is the face and the back. Most nuthatches have a snowy white face, whereas a large portion of chickadee faces is covered with the black eyepatch and crown. Backs of chickadees are a light gray, whereas the backs of nuthatches are mostly bluish-gray or plain blue.
Wings
Chickadee wing coloration contains mostly gray and white hues. Patterns are quite subtle and indistinguishable from one another. There are black patches and subtle white streaks.
Conversely, nuthatch tails are mostly bluish-gray all over, with sharp and distinct black edges. There are well defined black markings on the wings.
Beak
Chickadees have shorter beaks than nuthatches. Their beaks appear stubby and are black or gray in color. Nuthatches have longer beaks and are black in color.
Feet
Feet of chickadees and nuthatches are similar– they are four-toed, where 3 are front-facing, and 1 is backward-facing. However, the difference lies mostly in the way the feet are used.
Comparably, feet of nuthatches are slightly larger, as the hind toe is enlarged. One of the most unique features of nuthatches is that they can hang upside-down and also climb downward a tree, which is something most birds do not do. These are the antics that nuthatches use their large hind toe for. It provides them balance and secure footing.
Calls
Guess how chickadees got their name? From their vocalizations! They generate clear, whistling and quite melodious notes that sound like their name “chick-a-dee-dee-dee”. The pace is slow when they are trying to win their counterpart’s attention while mating, and gets pretty fast-paced when predators are near.
Nuthatches do more than just whistle. For ordinary, day-to-day communication, they make “yank yank” noises. During mating, they make noises that resemble “whee whee” or “wha wha” notes, that can be compared to laughter noises.
Source: @clark_b17_onthegram
Feeding And Social Behavior
Chickadees are quite social, in fact more amiable when compared to nuthatches. They are found flocking around with birds of their own type and other species quite frequently, foraging about and flying off into the sunset.
One of their unmistakable feeding behaviors is their tendency to cache food. Chickadees that live in the harsh winter conditions have developed some adaptations that include a large hippocampus and more neurons in their brains. This gives them an excellent memory.
Chickadees are known to hide around 80,000 seeds in different places in the winter, and they remember where they hid them, and find them all out later.
Nuthatches also forage in large flocks with other birds like warblers, but not as frequently as chickadees. They do that mainly for better protection against predators.
One of the most notable feeding behaviors of nuthatches is their ability to hang upside-down from tree branches, and maneuver their way downward a tree trunk, with head facing downward. This is a rather bizarre way of hanging around in the avian world. Researchers say they probably do that to explore areas of the bark that have been left untouched by other birds.
Some say, while hanging upside-down from trees, they also find new places to cache their food in– places that cannot be reached and ransacked by other birds.
Nesting And Brooding
Chickadees and nuthatches are both cavity-dwellers, meaning they like to nest cozily with their family members inside crevices within trunks of trees. However, there is one difference. Chickadees prefer to excavate their own holes sometimes, that nuthatches do not do. Nuthatches like the ready-made, abandoned holes left by other birds.
Chickadees lay 6 to 8 eggs per brood, incubating them for 12 to 13 days. In comparison, nuthatches lay 5 to 9 eggs per brood, incubating them for 12 to 14 days. The difference is not that impressive. During this time, males of both families gather food for the mothers and chicks.
FAQ
Chickadees and nuthatches share a number of similarities and differences. If you want to find out some more nuances, check this FAQ section out.
Q: Are chickadee and nuthatch related?
Ans: No, chickadees and nuthatches are not related. These two birds belong to different families.
Q: Are the habitats of nuthatch and chickadee similar?
Ans: Yes, the habitats are similar. They usually like to forage and nest in woodlands and forests, inside tree cavities. In backyards, they nest inside boxes.
Chickadees, however, prefer forest margins, and are frequently spotted near willows and cottonwoods, alder and birch trees. Nuthatches are seen closer to humans, like in backyards and gardens.
Q: Do Chickadee and Nuthatch migrate?
Ans: No, they do not usually migrate as they have been observed to spend the whole year in the same area. However, red-breasted nuthatches migrate to warmer climates during winter.
Thoughts
Yes, they are similar, and no, they are not related. When compared chickadee vs nuthatch, they are both found to have black caps, buff underparts, black-and-white overall appearance, similar diet and habitat preferences.
Birdwatchers scratch their heads and wonder how to tell them apart?
Well, they are not related to each other, so they have numerous differences that need to be observed and discovered. Look at their head and throat, and try to listen to them– the secrets lie there. It is truly noteworthy that true miracles manifest only when we pay attention.
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