Nature's Nut Managers

Learn about Clark's nutcrackers and how their food-caching ways help out

- AMY GRISAK

Vocal and gregarious, Clark's nutcrackers make themselves known in the conifer forests of the mountainous West. Sometimes mistaken for Canada jays, which are also predominantly gray, these corvids have black wings and a distinct spikelike bill.

Super Storers

Their long bill is indicative of a preference for pine nuts. "The Clark's nutcrackers are famous for their relationship with whitebark pines," says Hilary Turner, program coordinator for the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation. This threatened pine species along with limber pines, Douglas firs, pinyon and ponderosa pines provide food for the nutcrackers, which, in turn, disperse the seeds.