I've seen White-Breasted Nuthatches do the same sort of thing at a platform
feeder of mine (throughout the year, not just spring), a very dramatic
wingspread that I always took to be a threat display, as it seems to do it
when others come near the seed the nuthatch is eating from. I've always
I've seen this happening when a nuthatch is approached too closely by another
species of bird at a feeder, so a kind of interspecific aggressive display.
They also do it as a distraction display, when their nest is threatened by
another species of bird or a mammal such as a chipmunk. The
-L; NATURAL-HISTORY-L
Subject: RE: [cayugabirds-l] interesting WB nuthatch behavior
I've seen this happening when a nuthatch is approached too closely by another
species of bird at a feeder, so a kind of interspecific aggressive display.
They also do it as a distraction display, when their nest
