First Breeding of Brown-headed Nuthatch in New Jersey

Scott McConnell*

*PO Box 539, Whitesboro, NJ 08210.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 31, Issue 4 (2024): N51–N52

First published early online: 18 December 2024

Abstract
Sitta pusilla (Brown-headed Nuthatch) is a songbird of southeastern US pinelands. Since the first New Jersey sighting of the species in 2005, it has been recorded with increasing frequency in the state but had not been found breeding there. I found 2 nesting pairs in Cape May County in 2024 that both successfully fledged young. Further field work could determine if this is an outlier range spillover into uniquely suitable habitat or if the species is expanding further into New Jersey.

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