We have a lot to learn about the habits of backyard birds. One behavior I find fascinating is the fact the male white-breasted nuthatches will rob foods cached by their mates.
Male and female white-breasted nuthatches travel together throughout the winter. For that reason, if a white-breasted nuthatch appears are you feeder this winter, you will likely also spot its mate.
In the world of the white-breasted nuthatch, males dominate females. As a result, they will often steal food recently cached by females. Some suggest this is a display of dominance. Often, however, females thwart this larceny by hiding seeds and other foods in the opposite direction from the cache sites males are using.
