Pygmy nuthatches are small, common birds of western pine forests. They exhibit unique nesting and winter roosting behavior.
Range of the Pygmy Nuthatch
Pygmy nuthatches occur throughout the west from British Columbia to Baja California and east to Nebraska. Often associated with Ponderosa pine forests, the birds also may be found in oak woodlands and mixed coniferous habitats.
Pygmy Nuthatch Identification
Small and social, the pygmy nuthatch is a common bird in western Ponderosa pine forests. Averaging about 4” long (3.75-4.5”), this small nuthatch appears stubby with a chisel-like bill. The gray-blue back contrasts with the brownish-gray cap, white face and cream-colored underparts. Adults and juveniles have similar plumage.
The birds make a distinct high-pitched repetitive call of tidi tidi tidi or a flutelike wee-bee wee-bee call. As they move about in loose flocks, this constant chatter identifies them from their two relatives the red- and white-breasted nuthatches.
Nuthatches as Cavity Nesters
Pygmy nuthatches generally excavate their own nest cavity, drilling into fence posts, dead limbs, rotten wood, or standing dead trees like western junipers or Ponderosa pines. While excavating their nest cavity, the birds may be heard hammering away inside. They emerge with a bill-full of woody debris and “spit” away the shavings.The adult nuthatches may also usurp abandoned woodpecker cavities for their nests or use nest boxes for breeding sites.
Once construction is completed, the nest’s interior is lined with bark, leaves, fur or feathers to protect the eggs and young. The female nuthatch lays and incubates her 4-9 eggs. The young hatch in 15-16 days, then fledge sometime between 20-22 days old.
The pygmy nuthatch is one of two nuthatches worldwide that use nest helpers to build and maintain the nest, then assist with feeding the young and fledglings.The nest helpers are generally unmated males – either year-old birds or siblings related to the breeding pair. Once the young hatch, the adults and helpers make frequent trips to the nest with flying insects, moths, caterpillars, ants or spiders for the young. Insects comprise approximately 80% of the adult’s diet in summer.
Foraging Behavior of the Pygmy Nuthatch
Unlike white-breasted nuthatches that forage mainly along tree trunks, pygmy nuthatches glean insects from all over the tree - from tree trunk to branch tip. The birds cling to or hover around needles, cones and new shoots as they search for insects or conifer seeds.
What’s In a Nuthatch Name?
The pygmy nuthatches’ scientific name is Sitta pygmaea. Sitta is from the Greek word sitte, a reference by Aristotle to a bird, possibly the nuthatch that pecked on tree bark. Pygmaea is from a Latin word meaning “pygmy,” a reference to the small size of this nuthatch. The common name “nuthatch” comes from a corruption of the word hack, as indicated by these birds hacking open seeds, not sitting on them to hatch.
Nickolas Aylward Vigors (1785-1840), an Irish zoologist and politician, first described the pygmy nuthatch in 1839. He used a specimen brought back from the Monterey area on the 1839 Beechy Voyage. Vigors wrote the descriptions for the voyage's ornithological report.
A Jar of Nuthatches
In winter, nuthatches may congregate in large tree cavities to roost and stay warm on cold nights. Groups of over 100 individuals have been recorded in these roosts. They birds may also enter a state of torpor – a thermoregulation technique that lowers the body temperature when in these group roosting situations. The torpor state reduces the bird’s expenditure of energy to stay warm – huddling together achieves this purpose. Incidentally, a group of nuthatches is called a “jar” of nuthatches.
In winter these nuthatches may join together in flocks or mix in with chickadees, brown creepers or other nuthatches. Easily attracted to backyard seed and suet feeders, these little energetic nuthatches are a joy to watch.
References
David Marshall, Matthew Hunter and Alan Contreras, Eds. Birds of Oregon: A General Reference. Oregon State University Press: Corvallis, OR, 2003.
John Terres. The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds. Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 1980.
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