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ForestCup nestMedium · 183 g
What the Northern Nutcracker sounds like
ID tip
Northern nutcracker ranges from 32–38 cm in length (from tip of beak to tip of tail) and has a wingspan ranging from 49–53 cm. It is a dark brown, broad-winged, short-tailed corvid. Body plumage is mid-to-dark chocolate brown, heavily spotted with white on face, neck, mantle and underparts. It has a large white loral spot, a white eye-ring, blackish-brown cap extending onto the nape, dark blackish wings with a greenish-blue gloss, all white vent, and dark tail with white corners above and a white terminal band on the undertail.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Northern Nutcracker
One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 10 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is September, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Northern Nutcracker
The map shades 40 countries with regular records, and 6 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in United Kingdom, Netherlands, Türkiye, Nepal, India, Luxembourg.
About the Northern Nutcracker
The northern nutcracker, previously known as the spotted nutcracker and Eurasian nutcracker, is a passerine bird in the crow family Corvidae. It is slightly smaller than the Eurasian jay but has a much larger bill and a slimmer looking head without any crest. The feathering over its body is predominantly chocolate brown with distinct white spots and patches. The wings and upper tail are black with a greenish-blue gloss.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Clark's NutcrackerNucifraga columbianaNucifraga columbiana is roughly the size of a jay, and slightly smaller than its Eurasian congenerics (northern, southern, and Kashmir nutcrackers).
Southern NutcrackerNucifraga hemispilaThe southern nutcracker is similar in size to the northern nutcracker, about 33 cm long.
Kashmir NutcrackerNucifraga multipunctataIt is a distinctive corvid with heavily streaked and spotted plumage.
Side by side: Clark's Nutcracker vs Northern Nutcracker · Northern Nutcracker vs Southern Nutcracker
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