Clark’s Nutcracker

The Clark’s Nutcracker is approximately the size of a jay but has a compact, crowlike shape. It has pale gray plumage, black wings, black feet, and a long, straight, sharply pointed black bill. In flight, broad white patches appear along the wings, while white outer tail feathers contrast with the black center of the tail.

Clark’s Nutcrackers inhabit the mountains of western North America, from southwestern Canada through much of the western United States. Their movements often follow the availability of pine seeds. Birds may travel between elevations seasonally or wander considerably farther when mountain cone crops are poor.

This species inhabits open mountain conifer forests, particularly those containing whitebark pine, limber pine, or other trees that produce large seeds. Depending on season and food availability, Clark’s Nutcrackers may also use ponderosa pine, pinyon-juniper, Douglas-fir, spruce, and other middle- or high-elevation forests.

Pine seeds are the foundation of the Clark’s Nutcracker’s diet. The bird uses its strong, pointed bill to remove seeds from cones and carries them in a specialized pouch beneath its tongue. Thousands of seeds are buried in widely scattered caches and later relocated from memory. Clark’s Nutcrackers also opportunistically eat insects, spiders, carrion, and small animals.