Thursday 17 November 2022

Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea)

OTHER NAMES: Californian Nuthatch
Latin Etymology: Sitta (bird mentioned by Aristotle) pygmaea ("pygmy")

 

Adult Pygmy Nuthatch (subspecies S. p. pygmaea) at Roy's Redwoods, California- September 2022

Featured Subspecies: Sitta pygmaea pygmaea
Weight: 8.5-11g  /  Length: 9-11cm  /  Wingspan: 19cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A tiny species of nuthatch whose range is largely restricted to the US, they are specialists of coniferous forest, feeding on pine seeds and insects. To survive extremes of cold, they have been known to roost communally in groups of over 100 indivuduals to share body heat. 

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sittidae
Genus: Sitta
SUBSPECIES: S. p. melanotis, S. p. pygmaea, S. p. leuconucha, S. p. chihuahuae, S. p. brunnescens, S. p. flavinucha, S. p. elii

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES 
Patchily distributed across Western Lower 48
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at Roy's Redwoods and Berkeley


Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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