Clark's nutcracker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nucifraga columbianaClark's nutcracker |
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| In Deschutes National Forest | |
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Nucifraga
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N. columbiana
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| Nucifraga columbiana (Wilson, 1811)
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The Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) is a special type of passerine bird. It's part of the Corvidae family, which includes crows and jays. People sometimes call it Clark's crow or woodpecker crow. This bird lives in the mountains of western North America. It eats many different things, but mostly loves pine nuts. It buries these seeds in the summer and remembers where they are to eat them in winter.
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About the Clark's Nutcracker
How it Got its Name
The famous Lewis and Clark Expedition first saw this bird. William Clark spotted it in 1805 near the Salmon River. This river flows into the Columbia River. The bird's scientific name, Nucifraga columbiana, means "nutcracker of the Columbia." Another explorer, Lewis, wrote a more detailed description in 1806. Later, a bird skin from the expedition was used by a bird expert named Alexander Wilson. He made a drawing of it for his big book, American Ornithology.
Where it Lives
You can find Clark's nutcrackers in western North America. They live from British Columbia and western Alberta in Canada, all the way south to Baja California and central New Mexico in the United States. There's even a small group on a mountain peak in Nuevo León, Mexico.
These birds mostly live in mountains. They prefer conifer forests at high altitudes, usually between 900 and 3,900 meters (3,000–12,900 feet) high. They don't migrate far like some birds. Instead, they move between higher and lower places depending on the season. If there aren't enough pine cones in their usual areas, they might fly to lower places or even further east, sometimes as far as Illinois.
What it Looks Like
Clark's nutcrackers are about 28.8 centimeters (11.3 inches) long. They are a bit smaller than their cousin, the spotted nutcracker, which lives in Europe and Asia. Most of their body is a loose, ashy-grey color. Their wings and tail are black and white. The middle tail feathers are black, and the outer ones are white. Their bill, legs, and feet are also black. They have a long, strong, cone-shaped bill.
Here are some average measurements:
- Length: 27-30 cm (10.6-11.8 in)
- Weight: 106-161 g (3.7-5.7 oz)
- Wingspan: 61 cm (24 in)
What Clark's Nutcrackers Eat
The most important food for Clark's nutcrackers is the seeds from pine trees. They especially like the large seeds from white pines that grow in cold, high places, like the whitebark pine and limber pine. They also eat seeds from other high-altitude pines. When they fly to lower areas, they eat seeds from pinyon pines.
Clark's nutcrackers have a special pouch under their tongue. This pouch can hold about 50 to 150 seeds, depending on their size. This helps them carry many seeds at once.
Storing Food for Later
These birds are very good at storing seeds. They usually bury them in the ground in small groups of 1 to 15 seeds. A single nutcracker can bury up to 98,000 seeds in one season! They store more seeds than they need. This is like an insurance policy in case other animals (squirrels, for example) steal some, or if there isn't much other food.
The extra seeds they bury can sometimes grow into new trees if the conditions are right. This means the nutcracker helps its own home grow! What's amazing is their memory. They can find their hidden seeds very accurately, even nine months later. They can even find them when the seeds are buried under a meter (3 feet) of snow! This amazing memory shows how smart these birds are.
Other Foods
Besides pine seeds, Clark's nutcrackers eat many other things. They eat different kinds of insects, berries, and other fruits. They also eat small mammals and sometimes meat from dead animals. They might even eat eggs and baby birds from other nests. At bird feeders, they enjoy peanuts and suet.
They find food both on the ground and in trees. They are very good at moving around in tree branches. They can hold pine cones with their feet and then use their strong bills to break them open and get the seeds. They also break into rotten logs to find large beetle grubs. Sometimes, they flip over animal droppings to look for insects. Clark's nutcrackers can also be found looking for food in places where people live, earning them the nickname "camp robbers."
Nesting and Young Birds
Clark's nutcrackers usually build their nests in pine trees or other conifer trees early in the spring. The female bird lays two to four eggs. Both parents take turns sitting on the eggs, which hatch in about 16 to 18 days. Both the male and female also develop special "brood patches" on their bodies to keep the eggs warm. The young birds usually leave the nest around 22 days old. They stay with their parents for several months after leaving the nest. This might be so they can learn how to store seeds, which is a very important skill for them.
Helping Whitebark Pines Grow
The Clark's nutcracker is super important for the whitebark pine tree. It's the main bird that spreads the seeds of this tree. Whitebark pines are in trouble because of a disease called white pine blister rust and attacks from mountain pine beetles. Also, because fires are stopped, the forests aren't as healthy.
The Clark's nutcracker plays a key role in helping whitebark pines recover. The birds need to stay in these forests and bury lots of seeds. This way, healthy trees can keep growing. If whitebark pines disappear, the Clark's nutcracker will lose a very important food source. This could mean you might not see them in places where these trees are their main food, like Glacier National Park.
What it Sounds Like
This bird makes many different sounds. Its voice is very varied. But the sound you'll hear most often is like khraaaah-khraaaah.
Images for kids
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Original illustration of Clark's nutcracker by Alexander Wilson
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Clark's Nutcracker eating pine seeds.
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Clark's nutcracker landing, Mount Hood, Oregon.
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A Clark's Nutcracker resting on a branch at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.
See also
In Spanish: Cascanueces de Clark para niños
