Pygmy nuthatch

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Pygmy nuthatch
California, United States

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sittidae
Genus: Sitta
Species:
S. pygmaea
Binomial name
Sitta pygmaea
Vigors, 1839

The pygmy nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea) is a tiny songbird, about 10 cm (4 in) long and about 10 grams in weight.

Description

Measurements:

  • Length: 3.5–4.3 in (8.9–10.9 cm)[2]
  • Weight: 0.3–0.4 oz (8.5–11.3 g)[2]
  • Wingspan: 19.7 cm (7.8 in)[3]

It ranges from southern

Douglas-firs, and other conifers
. Pygmy nuthatches clamber acrobatically in the foliage of these trees, feeding on insects and seeds; less often they creep along limbs or the trunk like bigger nuthatches.

Pygmy nuthatches nest in cavities in dead stubs of conifers, lining the bottom of the cavity with pine-cone scales, plant down, and other soft plant and animal materials. They may fill cracks or crevices around the entrance with fur; the function of this behavior is unknown. The female lays 4–9 eggs, which are white with fine reddish-brown spotting. She does most of the incubation, which lasts about 16 days. The young leave the nest about 22 days after hatching.

This species is highly gregarious. A nesting pair may have other birds as helpers. Outside the breeding season, this bird wanders in noisy flocks. It also roosts communally; over 100 birds have been seen huddled in a single tree cavity.

At a feeder

All plumages are similar, with a warm gray cap, blue-gray upper-parts, and whitish underparts. The only feature not seen in the photograph is a whitish spot on the nape, particularly in worn plumage (summer). Vocalizations are highly varied chirps, peeps, and chattering.

This species is very similar to the brown-headed nuthatch of the southeastern U.S. Their ranges have no overlap.

The pygmy nuthatch features prominently in the climax of the 2000 film

Carmel, California—though the bird shown is not a pygmy nuthatch, which in any case is found in a much wider range. (The Hollywood impostor is a Venezuelan troupial
, Icterus icterus.)

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22711170A94282038.en
    . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Pygmy Nuthatch Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  3. ^ "Pygmy Nuthatch". Flathead Audubon Society. 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2020-09-28.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sitta pygmaea.
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