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
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.
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
- eNature
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Pygmy Nuthatch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pygmy_Nuthatch
