Genus of birds
Nutcrackers |
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Nucifraga columbiana |
Scientific classification |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Corvidae |
Genus: | Nucifraga Brisson, 1760 |
Type species |
Corvus caryocatactes
Linnaeus, 1758 |
Species |
Nucifraga caryocatactes Nucifraga columbiana Nucifraga multipunctata |
The nutcrackers (Nucifraga) are a genus of three species of passerine bird, in the family Corvidae, related to the jays and crows.
The genus Nucifraga was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the spotted nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes) as the type species.[1][2] The genus name is a Neo-Latin translation of German Nussbrecher, "nut-breaker".[3]
Extant species
The genus contains three species:[4]
The most important food resources for these species are the seeds (pine nuts) of various pines (Pinus sp.), principally the cold-climate (far northern or high altitude) species of white pine (Pinus subgenus Strobus) with large seeds: P. albicaulis, P. armandii, P. cembra, P. flexilis, P. koraiensis, P. parviflora, P. peuce, P. pumila, P. sibirica and P. wallichiana, and also the pinyon and lacebark pines. In some regions, where none of these pines occur, the seeds of spruce (Picea sp.) and hazelnuts (Corylus sp.) form an important part of the diet too. Their bills are specialized tools for extracting seeds from pine cones.
Surplus seed is always stored for later use, and it is this genus that is responsible for the re-establishment of their favoured pines over large areas either burnt in forest fires or cleared by man. The nutcracker can store as many as 30,000 pine nuts in a single season, remembering the location of as many as 70% of their stash, even when buried in snow.[5] Nutcrackers will cache seeds as far as 32 kilometres (20 mi) away from parent plants, about eight times farther than related dispersers like jays and crows, and are thus important in re-establishing forests and responding to climate change.[6]
Various insects are also taken, including bee and wasp larvae, and also birds' eggs and nestlings, and carrion if it is found.
Nesting is always early in this genus, so as to make the best use of pine nuts stored the previous autumn. The nest is usually built high in a conifer. There are normally 2–4 eggs laid and incubated for 18 days. Both sexes feed the young which are usually fledged by about 23 days and stay with their parents for many months, following them to learn food storage techniques.
None of the species are migratory, but they will leave their usual ranges if a cone crop failure causes a food shortage.
References
- ^ Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés (in French and Latin). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. Vol. 1, p. 30, Vol. 2, p. 58.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1962). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 15. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 256.
- ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 276. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Crows, mudnesters, birds-of-paradise". World Bird List Version 9.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ "Yellowstone" BBC2, episode 3"
- ^ Tomback, Diana F. (2016). "7". In Sekercioglu, Cagan; Wenny, Daniel G.; Whelan, Christopher J. (eds.). Why birds matter: avian ecological function and ecosystem services. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 201. ISBN 022638263X.
External links
- Nutcracker videos on the Internet Bird Collection
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Choughs | Pyrrhocorax | - Alpine chough (P. graculus)
- Red-billed chough (P. pyrrhocorax)
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Treepies | Crypsirina | - Hooded treepie (C. cucullata)
- Black racket-tailed treepie (C. temia)
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Dendrocitta | - Andaman treepie (D. bayleyi)
- Bornean treepie (D. cinerascens)
- Grey treepie (D. formosae)
- Black-faced treepie (D. frontalis)
- White-bellied treepie (D. leucogastra)
- Sumatran treepie (D. occipitalis)
- Rufous treepie (D. vagabunda)
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Platysmurus | - Malayan black magpie (P. leucopterus)
- Bornean black magpie (P. aterrimus)
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Temnurus | - Ratchet-tailed treepie (T. temnurus)
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Oriental magpies | Cissa | - Common green magpie (C. chinensis)
- Indochinese green magpie (C. hypoleuca)
- Bornean green magpie (C. jefferyi)
- Javan green magpie (C. thalassina)
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Urocissa | - Taiwan blue magpie (U. caerulea)
- Red-billed blue magpie (U. erythrorhyncha)
- Yellow-billed blue magpie (U. flavirostris)
- Sri Lanka blue magpie (U. ornata)
- White-winged magpie (U. whiteheadi)
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Old World jays | Garrulus | - Eurasian jay (G. glandarius)
- Lanceolated jay (G. lanceolatus)
- Lidth's jay (G. lidthi)
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Podoces (Ground jays) | - Xinjiang ground jay (P. biddulphi)
- Mongolian ground jay (P. hendersoni)
- Turkestan ground jay (P. panderi)
- Iranian ground jay (P. pleskei)
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Ptilostomus | |
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Stresemann's bushcrow | Zavattariornis | - Stresemann's bushcrow (Z. stresemanni)
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Nutcrackers | Nucifraga | - Spotted nutcracker (N. caryocatactes)
- Clark's nutcracker (N. columbiana)
- Kashmir nutcracker (N. multipunctata)
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Holarctic magpies | Pica | - Black-billed magpie (P. hudsonia)
- Yellow-billed magpie (P. nuttalli)
- Eurasian magpie (P. pica)
- Oriental magpie (P. sericea)
- Maghreb magpie (P. mauritanica)
- Asir magpie (P. asirensis)
- Black-rumped magpie (P. bottanensis)
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True crows | Corvus | - Australian and Melanesian species
- Little crow (C. bennetti)
- Australian raven (C. coronoides)
- Bismarck crow (C. insularis)
- Brown-headed crow (C. fuscicapillus)
- Bougainville crow (C. meeki)
- Little raven (C. mellori)
- New Caledonian crow (C. moneduloides)
- Torresian crow (C. orru)
- Forest raven (C. tasmanicus)
- Grey crow (C. tristis)
- Long-billed crow (C. validus)
- White-billed crow (C. woodfordi)
- Pacific island species
- Hawaiian crow (C. hawaiiensis)
- Mariana crow (C. kubaryi)
- Tropical Asian species
- Slender-billed crow (C. enca)
- Small crow (C. samarensis)
- Palawan crow (C. pusillus)
- Flores crow (C. florensis)
- Large-billed crow (C. macrorhynchos)
- Eastern jungle crow (C. levaillantii)
- Indian jungle crow (C. culminatus)
- House crow (C. splendens)
- Collared crow (C. torquatus)
- Piping crow (C. typicus)
- Banggai crow (C. unicolor)
- Violet crow (C. violaceus)
- Eurasian and North African species
- Mesopotamian crow (C. capellanus)
- Hooded crow (C. cornix)
- Carrion crow (C. corone)
- Rook (C. frugilegus)
- Eastern carrion crow (C. orientalis)
- Fan-tailed raven (C. rhipidurus)
- Brown-necked raven (C. ruficollis)
- Holarctic species
- Common raven (C. corax)
- North and Central American species
- American crow (C. brachyrhynchos)
- Chihuahuan raven (C. cryptoleucus)
- Tamaulipas crow (C. imparatus)
- Jamaican crow (C. jamaicensis)
- White-necked crow (C. leucognaphalus)
- Cuban palm crow (C. minutus)
- Cuban crow (C. nasicus)
- Fish crow (C. ossifragus)
- Hispaniolan palm crow (C. palmarum)
- Sinaloan crow (C. sinaloae)
- Tropical African species
- White-necked raven (C. albicollis)
- Pied crow (C. albus)
- Cape crow (C. capensis)
- Thick-billed raven (C. crassirostris)
- Somali crow (C. edithae)
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Jackdaws | |
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Azure-winged magpies | Cyanopica | - Iberian magpie (C. cooki)
- Azure-winged magpie (C. cyanus)
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Grey jays | Perisoreus | - Canada jay (P. canadensis)
- Siberian jay (P. infaustus)
- Sichuan jay (P. internigrans)
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New World jays | Aphelocoma (Scrub jays) | - California scrub jay (A. californica)
- Island scrub jay (A. insularis)
- Woodhouse's scrub jay (A. woodhouseii)
- Florida scrub jay (A. coerulescens)
- Transvolcanic jay (A. ultramarina)
- Unicolored jay (A. unicolor)
- Mexican jay (A. wollweberi)
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Calocitta (Magpie-Jays) | - Black-throated magpie-jay (C. colliei)
- White-throated Magpie-jay (C. formosa)
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Cyanocitta | - Blue jay (C. cristata)
- Steller's jay (C. stelleri)
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Cyanocorax | - Black-chested jay (C. affinis)
- Purplish-backed jay (C. beecheii)
- Azure jay (C. caeruleus)
- Cayenne jay (C. cayanus)
- Plush-crested jay (C. chrysops)
- Curl-crested jay (C. cristatellus)
- Purplish jay (C. cyanomelas)
- White-naped jay (C. cyanopogon)
- Tufted jay (C. dickeyi)
- Azure-naped jay (C. heilprini)
- Bushy-crested jay (C. melanocyaneus)
- Brown jay (C. morio)
- White-tailed jay (C. mystacalis)
- San Blas jay (C. sanblasianus)
- Violaceous jay (C. violaceus)
- Green jay (C. ynca)
- Yucatan jay (C. yucatanicus)
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Cyanolyca | - Silvery-throated jay (C. argentigula)
- Black-collared jay (C. armillata)
- Azure-hooded jay (C. cucullata)
- White-throated jay (C. mirabilis)
- Dwarf jay (C. nana)
- Beautiful jay (C. pulchra)
- Black-throated jay (C. pumilo)
- Turquoise jay (C. turcosa)
- White-collared jay (C. viridicyana)
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Gymnorhinus | - Pinyon jay (G. cyanocephalus)
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Genera of corvides and their extinct allies |
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Taxon identifiers |
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Nucifraga | |
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Authority control databases: National | |
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