Birds of North Carolina
their Distribution and Abundance
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
SITTIDAE Members: Brown-headed Nuthatch 400
General Comments
The Brown-headed Nuthatch, the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, and the Bachman's Sparrow are the signature birds of the mature, open Longleaf Pine stands of the Coastal Plain of the Southeast. Unlike those two, however, the nuthatch occurs in the Piedmont (in large numbers), whereas the woodpecker and the sparrow are essentially restricted to the Coastal Plain. Unlike the Red-breasted and White-breasted nuthatches, the Brown-headed is completely nonmigratory. It occurs in North Carolina throughout the Coastal Plain, essentially throughout the Piedmont, and in a few of the southern mountain counties, at lower elevations (as a recent colonizer). Favored habitats are mature and open Longleaf Pine stands, such as savannas, flatwoods, and drier sandhills; however, they also are at least locally common in open Loblolly, Shortleaf, and Pond Pine stands, less so in Virginia Pine. In the Piedmont, the birds are not numerous in mature Loblolly Pine stands, but favor thinned or more open pine stands, such as in residential areas, golf courses, margins of lakes and ponds, and edges. Mountain populations are in open Shortleaf Pine stands, for the most part. In the winter, as with other nuthatches, most are found with chickadees, titmice, warblers, Brown Creepers, and Downy Woodpeckers in mixed-species flocks.
Breeding Status
Breeder
NC BRC List
Definitive
State Status
none
U.S. Status
Definitive
State Rank
S5
Global Rank
G4
Coastal Plain
Permanent resident; nonmigratory. Common in the Sandhills and other areas in the southern portions dominated by Longleaf Pine (i.e., north to Fort Bragg and Croatan National Forest). Fairly common to common in the northern two-thirds of the province, with the exception of being absent in Buxton Woods and a few other coastal island forests. A small group was regularly seen at Ocracoke Island (Hyde) in Oct-Nov 2025 in a pine stand; were these wandering birds from the mainland? Peak counts:
Piedmont
Permanent resident; nonmigratory. Common along the extreme eastern and southern portions, but mostly fairly common in the remainder of the southeastern two-thirds of the province; uncommon in the northern and western third of the province (i.e., west of Forsyth and Mecklenburg), including the foothills. Peak counts:
Mountain
Scarce permanent resident, but slowly increasing; apparently nonmigratory. Formerly did not occur/breed in the province; first records around 1970. Currently, locally uncommon in Buncombe, mainly within a few miles of the French Broad River. A few records in Madison close to the river. Also, rare to locally uncommon in the southwestern corner of the region, in Macon, Clay, Graham, and Cherokee. Seemingly very rare in additional southern counties were individuals in fall 2024 reported in Haywood and Transylvania. Almost certainly a stray in the northern counties, where one was seen at a feeder in Boone (Watauga) on 26-27 May 2020. Peak counts: 8, Lake Chatuge (Clay) area, 25 May 2002.
Finding Tips
This species is almost always found in a morning of birding in Longleaf Pine forests. Weymouth Woods preserve near Southern Pines, the Sandhills Game Land, Holly Shelter Game Land (US 17 side), and Croatan National Forest (Millis Road Savanna) are good places.