Alternative name: Californian Nuthatch
- Sitta pygmaea
Identification
10-11 cm
- Blue grey above
- Grey-brown cap
- Indistinct black eye line
- Faint white smudge at base of nape
- Creamy white below
Similar species
Brown-headed Nuthatch would be very tricky to distinguish, except that the two species never meet, being very sedentary and separated by a roughly 750 km gap in Texas where neither occurs.
Distribution
Southwestern Canada, western United States (east to westernmost Texas), and Mexico.
Taxonomy
Closely related to Brown-headed Nuthatch, with which it has sometimes been considered conspecific in the past[2].
Subspecies
Seven subspecies are accepted[1]:
- S. p. melanotis:
- Southern British Columbia to northwestern Mexico (Sonora and north-western Coahuila)
- S. p. pygmaea:
- Western California (Mendocino County to San Luis Obispo County)
- S. p. leuconucha:
- Southern California (San Jacinto and Laguna mts.) to northern Baja California
- S. p. chihuahuae:
- Western Mexico (Sierra Madre Occidental of north-eastern Sonora to northern Jalisco)
- S. p.a brunnescens:
- Southwestern Mexico (southern Jalisco and Michoacán)
- S. p. flavinucha:
- Western Veracruz (Mount Orizaba) to western Puebla, Morelos and México
- S. p. elii:
- Eastern Mexico (southwestern Nuevo León and se Coahuila)
Habitat
Mixed conifer and open forests; primarily a pine forest specialist in montane old growth pine, or in pine mixed with fir, spruce, juniper, and other coniferous trees.
Behaviour
This highly social species survives cold weather by "controlled hypothermia" in which multiple birds snuggle together in roosting cavities for warmth. Stacks of 10 birds or more sometimes roost together in formations of squares, oblongs, triangles, diamonds, wedges, and tiers. More than 150 individuals have been found roosting in a single tree.
Diet
Mainly pine seeds in winter; forages on the trunk and branches for insects and larvae in summer. Regularly visits bird feeders, storing nuts and seeds for later consumption.
Breeding
A cavity nester, the 5-9 white eggs, with reddish-brown speckles, are laid in a nest made of soft material.
Vocalisations
Noisy. Calls are clear, high-pitched, rapid kit-kit, kit-kit…, or pit-pit,.... often with a staccato cadence recalling Morse Code.
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2008. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 13: Penduline-tits to Shrikes. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553453
- Harrap, S. (2018). Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/59922 on 8 December 2018).
- Kingery, H. E. and C. K. Ghalambor (2001). Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.567
- BirdForum Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Pygmy Nuthatch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pygmy_Nuthatch
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
