(Sitta carolinensis)
Year-round
HABITAT: Deciduous forests and wooded suburbs with large trees, seemingly preferring woodland edges more than deep interior; also common at bird feeders
DESCRIPTION: Bluish-gray above with rusty sides and lower belly, white face and breast; black crown in male, grayish in female; short tail with white corners seen in flight; creeps headfirst down tree trunks
All fall and winter these nuthatches are relatively quiet as the paired male and female call softly to each other with single ultra-brief notes, some rising, some falling, in order to keep in touch as they forage.
In late winter, his demeanor begins to change, and on even the coldest of days he begins to sing. His song is a series of repeated, slightly nasal notes, each with a rising inflection, and he sings with two speeds. The slower song is a lower-pitched waah-waah-waah-waah-waah . . .; the faster is a slightly higher-pitched whi-whi-whi-whi-whi . . . . Why he has two speeds and in which context he uses them is a puzzle. In the Northeast, the male sings throughout the day during late winter and early spring, especially from March through May, then falls curiously silent during June when birds of other species are singing lustily.
This nuthatch is best known for its nasal yank calls, which are longer, higher, and harsher on the Pacific coast than on the eastern half of the continent. Listen to the conversation between nuthatches, especially during the nesting season; you might hear a single yank call, a discontinuous series of yanks, a double yank-yank, a rapid and continuous series of ten or more, or a rougher yank given in a disjointed series. These five uses of yank indicate increasing levels of excitement or urgency that could be caused by a predator or a territorial fight.
In more coniferous habitats, listen for the higher-pitched and more nasal eenk eenk of the Red-breasted Nuthatches.
Two slow songs followed by two fast songs Yank calls 
