General Information
- Straight gray bill
- Black crown and nape
- White face and underparts
- Blue-gray upperparts
- Rusty undertail coverts
- Short tail
- Sexes similar but female duller
- Feeds by hopping along tree trunks and branches
  often hanging upside down

Similar species
Because of its unique feeding strategy, the White-breasted Nuthatch is most likely to confused with other nuthatches. Red-breasted Nuthatch has a black eyeline and reddish underparts.

Brown-headed and Pygmy Nuthatches have brown caps and a white patch on the nape. Red-breasted, Pygmy and Brown-headed Nuthatches are mostly found in pines while the White-breasted prefers deciduous trees.