Clark's Nutcracker

Adults have pale gray heads and underparts with a contrasting white patch on the wings, black central tail feathers with white outer tips, and heavy black wings. Sexes look alike; juveniles are duller and browner with grayish-buff tips on feathers.

Pale gray body, striking black central tail feathers with white outer tail feathers, stark black wings with a prominent white patch on the inner primaries, and a long stout bill.

Length: 27-30 cm (11-12 in); Wingspan: about 50-60 cm (20-24 in); Weight: 125-165 g (4.4-5.8 oz)

A loud, harsh, grating, and repetitive series of calls, most commonly described as a harsh 'kha-kha-kha' or 'crak-crak-crak'.

Primarily pine seeds, but also insects, berries, small fruits, carrion, and occasionally small vertebrates or eggs. They store food in underground caches for winter.

Subalpine and montane coniferous forests, particularly dominated by pinyon pine, ponderosa pine, and whitebark pine trees.

Permanent resident, but exhibits irruptive behavior, wandering widely to lower elevations or outside the normal range when pine seed crops fail.

Breeds very early in the spring (often in late winter while snow is still on the ground). Builds a bulky twig nest high in a conifer tree. Usually lays 2 to 4 eggs, incubated by both parents.

Gray Jay (Canada Jay) lacks the stark black-and-white wing pattern and has a shorter, blunter bill. Pinyon Jay is entirely blue.

Crucial keystone species for high-elevation ecosystems as they cache millions of pine seeds annually, being the primary seed dispersal mechanism for whitebark pine and other conifers.

IUCN Least Concern, though populations face regional threats from white pine blister rust and climate change affecting pine cone production.

Look in high-elevation pine forests, especially near campgrounds or viewpoints where they may boldly approach humans for food. Listen for their loud, harsh calls.

Clark's Nutcracker has a sublingual pouch under its tongue that can hold up to around 90-100 pine seeds at one time, allowing it to transport seeds great distances to caching sites.