Kiefernhäher

Bestimmung

Nucifraga columbiana can reach an average length of 28.8 cm (11.3 in). It is slightly smaller than its Eurasian relative the spotted nutcracker (N. caryocatactes). Most of its body has feathers that are ashy-grey and loose in texture. The wings and tail are black and white. The central tail feathers are black and the outer ones white. The bill, legs and feet are also black. The bill is long, stout, and cone-shaped.

Taxonomie

Originally placed in the genus Corvus by Lewis, Clark's nutcracker was later included in Nucifraga by Wilson, which also includes two Old World species with similar lifestyles and habitats.

Wissenschaftlicher Name

Nucifraga columbiana

Autorität

(Wilson, A, 1811)

Ordnung

Passeriformes

Familie

Rabenvögel (Corvidae)

Gattung

Nucifraga

Verbreitung und Lebensraum

This species is present in western North America from British Columbia and western Alberta in the north to Baja California and central New Mexico in the south. There is also a small isolated population on the peak of Cerro Potosí, elevation 3,700 metres (12,200 ft), in Nuevo León, northeast Mexico. It is mainly found in mountains at altitudes of 900–3,900 metres (3,000–12,900 ft) in conifer forest. It is not migratory except in the sense of moving back and forth locally between areas of higher and lower elevation. Outside the breeding season, it may wander extensively to lower altitudes and also further east as far as Illinois (and exceptionally, Pennsylvania), particularly following any cone crop failure in its normal areas.

Zugverhalten

Resident species

Schutzstatus

Bestandstrend

stable