Pygmy Nuthatch

Sitta pygmaeaOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Nuthatches (Sittidae)

Codes: Common Name: PYNU Scientific Name: SITPYG ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178788

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous, Forest edge

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Cooperative

Breeding Population:

Fairly common

Egg Color:

White with sparse red brown flecks

Number of Eggs:

4 - 9

Incubation Days:

15 - 16

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Lined with leaves, shredded pinecones, plant down, fur, and feathers.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

General

Pygmy Nuthatch: Small nuthatch with blue-gray upperparts and pale yellow breast. Head has a dark gray-brown cap, pale spot on nape, and thick black eye-line; throat is white. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Pygmy Nuthatch: Resident locally from southern British Columbia, eastward to the Black Hills of South Dakota, and southward into Mexico. Primary habitat consists of ponderosa pine forests with undergrowth of bunchgrass; also occurs in stands of other pines, Douglas firs, and western larch.

Breeding and Nesting

Pygmy Nuthatch: Four to nine white eggs with red brown flecks are laid in a nest made of soft plant material, in a cavity of a dead pine or stump, usually about 15 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 15 to 16 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Pygmy Nuthatch: Diet consists of caterpillars, moths, other insects, and conifer seeds; forages by climbing up and down trunks and branches, often turning upside down and sideways.

Readily Eats

Sunflower Seed, Nut Pieces

Vocalization

Pygmy Nuthatch: Call is a noisy, ongoing, rapid "tee-dee, tee-dee"; also makes a flutelike "wee-bee, wee-bee."

Similar Species

Pygmy Nuthatch: Red-breasted Nuthatch is larger and has black cap and black eye-line with a white eyebrow.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Pygmy Nuthatch

Pygmy Nuthatch: Small nuthatch, blue-gray upperparts and pale yellow breast. Head has a dark gray-brown cap, pale spot on nape, and thick black eye-line; throat is white. Legs and feet are gray. Weak fluttering flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings drawn to sides, usually of short duration.

● Song: "tee-dee, tee-dee", "wee-bee, wee-bee"

● Foraging & Feeding: Pygmy Nuthatch: Diet consists of caterpillars, moths, other insects, and conifer seeds; forages by climbing up and down trunks and branches, often turning upside down and sideways.

● Breeding & nesting: Pygmy Nuthatch: Four to nine white eggs with red brown flecks are laid in a nest made of soft plant material, in a cavity of a dead pine or stump, usually about 15 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 15 to 16 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Pygmy Nuthatch: Red-breasted Nuthatch is larger and has black cap and black eye-line with a white eyebrow.

Flight Pattern

Short flights, weak and fluttering, with several rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Pygmy Nuthatch: Resident locally from southern British Columbia, eastward to the Black Hills of South Dakota, and southward into Mexico. Primary habitat consists of ponderosa pine forests with undergrowth of bunchgrass; also occurs in stands of other pines, Douglas firs, and western larch.

^BreedingMonogamous, Cooperative

^PopulationFairly common

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight0.4 Ounces

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Cap

The area on top of the head of the bird.

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Pygmy Nuthatch

Breeding Location:

Breeding Type:

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Nest Material:

Migration:

Recommended Products:

General

Range and Habitat

Breeding and Nesting

Foraging and Feeding

Readily Eats

Vocalization

Similar Species

Pygmy Nuthatch

Flight Pattern