Clark's Nutcracker

Nucifraga columbiana

"Clark's Nutcracker inhabits the high montane regions of the western United States and Canada, preferring coniferous forest dominated by one or more species of large-seeded pines.  Its year-round diet consists primarily of fresh and stored pine seeds.  Nestlings and juveniles are fed seeds from stores as well.  The morphology, behavior, and annual cycle of the nutcracker is closely tied to this specialized diet.  Conversely, several pines that depend on nutcrackers for seed dispersal show specialized cone and seed traits for this interaction:  whitebark (Pinus albicaulis), limber (P. flexilis), Colorado piñon (P. edulis), single-leaf piñon (P. monophylla), and southwestern white (P. strobiformis).  Seed dispersal by Clark's nutcracker has resulted in a commonly occurring tree cluster growth form in 3 of these pines and has altered their genetic population structure in comparison to wind-dispersed pines."

From Tomback, D. F. 1998.  clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana).  In The Birds of North America, No. 331 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.).  The Birds of north America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

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