Clark's nutcracker

It can be seen in western North America from British Columbia and western Alberta in the north to Baja California and western New Mexico in the south. There is also a small isolated population on the peak of Cerro Potosí, elevation 3,700 metres , in Nuevo León, northeast Mexico. It is mainly found in mountains at altitudes of 900–3,900 metres in pine forest. Outside the breeding season, it may wander extensively to lower altitudes and also further east as far as Illinois , particularly following any cone crop failure in its normal areas.

The Clark's nutcracker is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

Clark's Nutcracker, or Clark's Crow, a bird of the crow family that ranges from Alaska to California, and sometimes as far east as the Mississippi River. It was discovered by Lewis and Clark during their expedition of 1804-06. It cracks pine seeds and acorns in its long, heavy bill. The bird is about one foot (30 cm) long with a light gray body and black wings; the tail and wings have white spots. The claws are heavy, curved, and sharp. More

The Clark's Nutcracker is the size of a jay but is more like a crow in build and flight. Its body is primarily gray. It has black wings, and black down the center of its tail. The outer tail feathers and the undersides of the tail are white, and there are white wing patches at the trailing edges of the wings. More

The Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), is a large passerine bird, in the family Corvidae. It is slightly smaller than its Eurasian relative Spotted Nutcracker (N. caryocatactes). It is ashy-grey all over except for the black-and-white wings and central tail feathers (the outer ones are white). The bill, legs and feet are also black. More

I mentioned on Friday that a Clark's nutcracker (named for William Clark) had showed up at our house, a little lower in altitude than we normally see them. Unfortunately for its peace of mind, the Clark's is big enough to trigger Shelby the ninja collie's prey reflex. She will let finches and juncos walk right past her as she lies under near the bird feeder waiting for squirrels, but anything jay-sized or larger has to be chased. More

A member of the crow family Clark's nutcracker has the build of a small crow and is about 12 to 13 inches. It has a light gray body, white patches in black wings, and tail. Its long sharp bill is perfect for extracting nuts from pine cones. Juveniles are similar to adult, but are buff gray with dull black or brown wings. They have a pouch under their tongue that they use to carry pine seeds long distances where they cache them for later use. More

Clark's Nutcrackers can also be opportunistic feeders in more urban locations. The species usually nests in pines or other types of conifers during early spring. Nests are built on the leeward side of the tree, wind protection being a larger concern than sunlight. Two to four eggs are laid, incubation usually occurring in 16-18 days. Incubation is performed by both the male and female parents, and the young are typically fledged by around the 22nd day. More

Clark's Nutcracker, Bird of the West Transcript-291 = View Show Summary & Photo Play MP3 Download MP3 BirdNote® Clark’s Nutcracker – Bird of the West Written by Bob Sundstrom This is BirdNote! These gruff calls belong to a bird discovered two hundred years ago near present-day Kamiah, Idaho. More

Bent Life History for the Clark's Nutcracker - the common name and sub-species reflect the nomenclature in use at the time the description was written. More

Clark's Nutcrackers of Crater Lake National Park Visitors to the rim of Crater Lake can experience something special that was noted by the Lewis and Clark expedition nearly 200 years ago. Clark's Nutcrackers Banded For Study - Chas. W. Quaintance, Vol. 9, No. More

mountains to warmer climates, the Clark's nutcracker remains active at some of the highest elevations. Somewhat misnamed, the nutcracker uses its long, stout beak to pry pine seeds from the cones of whitebark, pinion, and other types of pines. During the late summer and fall when the pine seeds ripen, the nutcracker actively collects and caches between 20,000 and 30,000 seeds in the ground on south-facing slopes. More

The Clark's nutcracker is distributed from central British Columbia and western Alberta southward to Arizona and New Mexico . In years of poor conifer cone crops, individuals may wander irregularly outside the breeding range, occurring eastward onto the Great Plains, south to northern Baja California, west to the Pacific Coast, and north to Alaska . A stable but isolated population on Cerro El Potosi, Nuevo Leon, (mainland) Mexico is considered the most southerly extension of the Clark nutcracker's range . More

Clark's nutcracker joins Lewis' woodpecker in being immortalized by by one of the United States' earliest ornithologist illustrators, Alexander Wilson. Wilson's illustration is based on a specimen collected by Lewis and Clark, and he was first to publish both the accepted scientific name, and the common name. In Lewis' description we see mention of the bird's diet including pine nuts. The nut of choice is the white bark pine nut, wrenched out of cones with the bird's strong beak. More

The periodic irruptions of Clark's Nutcrackers, which may bring the birds all the way to the Pacific Coast, are related to failures of the pine nut crop. Near camps and picnic sites this erratic winter wanderer begs and steals food scraps. It can hold several nuts in a special cheek pouch under the tongue in addition to those it holds in the beak. The Clark's Nutcracker is a pigeon-sized bird with a flashing black, white and gray pattern. More

The Clark's nutcracker may have an even better mapping ability than Captain Clark, its namesake. A hoarder of whitebark pine nuts, the nutcracker can locate as many as 2,000 different caches up to eight months after it buried them. Still, it misses some, which germinate and grow. Unfortunately, blister rust is killing off whitebark pines, depriving Clark's nutcrackers of a primary food source. Not listed. More

Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), first observed on 22 August 1805 by William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition, is one of three nutcracker species that occur worldwide, all in the northern hemisphere. The Eurasian Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes) occurs across Europe and Asia, and the third, the larger Spotted Nutcracker (N. c. multipunctata), occurs in the forests of the western Himalayan Mountains (Madge and Burn 1994). More

vues screenshot — 21 décembre 2006 — Clark's nutcracker has a wide distribution in zones of coniferous vegetation from the coastal ranges in Canada t... screenshot — 21 décembre 2006 — Clark's nutcracker has a wide distribution in zones of coniferous vegetation from the coastal ranges in Canada throughout the mountainous areas of the western United States. Nutcrackers will remain on their summer range as long as food is available. In winter they migrate to lower elevations and spend the winter foraging and retrieving caches there. More

Clark's Nutcracker Taxonomy/Description Clark More

Picture of Nucifraga columbiana above has been licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial.
Original source: Blake Matheson
-Blake Matheson -Author: Blake Matheson
Permission: Some rights reserved
Order : Passeriformes
Family : Corvidae
Genus : Nucifraga
Species : columbiana
Authority : (Wilson, 1811)