A medium-sized gray-and-black corvid critical to whitebark pine forest regeneration. Caches thousands of pine seeds per year; memory drives forest dynamics.

Also called: Clark Nutcracker, Clark's Crow

Native status: Native; western mountains

§ Quick facts

SizeBody 27–30 cm (10.5–12 in); wingspan 60 cm
Weight100–150 g (3.5–5.3 oz)
LifespanWild 17 years documented
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyCorvidae

§ Encyclopedia

Clark's nutcracker, also known as Clark's crow, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to the mountains of western North America. The nutcracker is an omnivore, but subsists mainly on pine nuts, burying seeds in the ground in the summer and then retrieving them in the winter by memory. The bird was described by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, with William Clark first observing it in 1805 along the banks of the Salmon River, a tributary of the Columbia River.

Source: Wikipedia — Clark's nutcracker Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

§ Identification

Field marks. Medium gray corvid with black wings flashing prominent white patches; white outer tail feathers; long sharp bill used for prying open cones.

Similar species. Pinyon Jay (blue, no white wing patches). Gray Jay (smaller, fluffier).

Voice. Harsh "khraaaa" call and softer chatters; sings rarely.

§ Diet & behavior

Diet. Conifer seeds — primarily whitebark and limber pine. Supplemented with insects, small vertebrates, and carrion in summer.

Behavior. Caches 30,000–100,000 pine seeds each autumn in thousands of separate ground caches. Spatial memory accurate enough to find caches under snow months later. Single bird may plant the forests of an entire mountainside — whitebark pine depends on Clark's Nutcracker for regeneration.

§ Range

Western mountains

§ Habitat

High-elevation coniferous forests

§ Threats

Whitebark pine decline due to climate change and disease.

§ Conservation status

According to the IUCN Red List, the clark's nutcracker is currently classified as Near Threatened.

§ What helps

Support whitebark pine conservation. Protect mountain forests.

Support our work More ways to help

§ Further reading

§ Sources cited

  • Cornell Lab — All About Birds
  • USDA Forest Service
  • Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation
  • IUCN Red List 2018