Vocal and gregarious, Clark’s nutcrackers make themselves known in the conifer forests of the mountainous West. Sometimes mistaken for Canada jays, which are also predominantly gray, these corvids have black wings and a distinct spikelike bill.
Super Storers
Their long bill is indicative of a preference for pine nuts. “The Clark’s nutcrackers are famous for their relationship with whitebark pines,” says Hilary Turner, program coordinator for the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation. This threatened pine species—along with limber pines, Douglas firs, pinyon and ponderosa pines—provide food for the nutcrackers, which, in turn, disperse the seeds.
Hiding one to 14 seeds at a time in trenches in the soil, near rocks or in tree crevices, “A single bird can cache up to 98,000 white pine seeds per year,” says Taza Schaming, research associate for the…
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Birds & Blooms (Digital) - 1 Issue, October/November 2023