Clark's Nutcracker
Clark's Nutcracker
Nucifraga columbiana
(Corvidae)
Montana Species of Concern
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
S3
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
none
BLM:
none
General Description
Clark's Nutcracker is a jay-sized corvid that is crowlike in build and flight, with moderate sexual size dimorphism. Total length of adults 27.0 - 30.1 cm. Mass 106 - 161 g. Males slightly larger than females. Sexes similar in appearance. Light to medium gray, with varying amounts of white around eyes, on forehead, and on chin; white around vent and at base of tail; wings and tail glossy black; secondaries broadly tipped with white forming a white patch; outer rectrices white. Folded wings nearly reach tip of tail. Long, pointed, black bill with short nasal bristles. Distinctive grating call audible at great distance. (Tomback, Diana F. The Birds of North America, No. 331, 1998).
Habitat
In west-central Montana, they are found in close association with ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and white-bark pine (Mewaldt 1948).
Food Habits
Its year-round diet consists primarily of fresh and stored pine seeds (Tomback 1998).
Ecology
One territory was 2.1 acres (Mewaldt 1948).
Reproductive Characteristics
Nests occur in Douglas fir or ponderosa pine, 6 to 80 feet above ground. Eggs are deposited mid-March and the young fledge from late April to early May (Davis 1961, Mewaldt 1948).
Citations & Sources
- Davis, C. V. 1961. A distributional study of the birds of Montana. Ph.D. dissertation. Oregon State University, Corvallis. 462 pp.
- Lenard, S., J. Carlson, J. Ellis, C. Jones, and C. Tilly. 2003. P. D. Skaar's Montana Bird Distribution, 6th Edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, Montana. vi + 144 pp.
- Mewaldt, L. R. 1948. Nesting habits and some general notes on Clark's nutcracker (NUCIFRAGA COLUMBIANA Wilson). M.A. thesis. Montana State University, Missoula. 117 pp.
- NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. 2002. Version 1.6 . Arlington, Virginia, USA: NatureServe. Available: http://www.natureserve.org/explorer. (Accessed: March 20, 2003 ).
