Species: Sitta pygmaea
Pygmy Nuthatch
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Sittidae
Genus
Sitta
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Sita Enana - Sittelle pygmée
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Perching Birds
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Passeriformes - Sittidae - Sitta - Constitutes a superspecies with and has been considered conspecific with S. PUSILLA by some authors (AOU 1983, 1998).
Ecology and Life History
Migration
true - false - false
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Feeds on insects (wasps, ants, beetles, moths, grasshoppers, etc); also eats spiders and pine seeds. Forages on outer branches and twigs as well as along tree trunks.
Reproduction Comments
Clutch size is 4-9 (usually 6-8). Incubation, by female, lasts 15.5-16 days. Nestlings are altricial. Young leave nest at 22 days (Terres 1980). Cooperative breeding has been documented in California and Arizona; breeding units consisted of 2-5 birds; helpers (mostly yearlings, and offspring or siblings of the birds they aided) were found at about 30% of all nests in northern Arizona; nests with helpers sometimes more productive than those without helpers (Sydeman et al. 1988).
Ecology Comments
Often found in association with yellow-rumped warbler, plain titmouse, or mountain chickadee. Social throughout year. Travels in small family groups after nesting season. Family groups form larger loose flocks in fall and winter. Winter groups average 5-15 individuals; forage as a flock and roost communally within group territory (Sydeman et al. 1988).
Length
11
Weight
11
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-12-02
Global Status Last Changed
1996-12-02
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=S4&US.AZ=S5&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S4&US.ID=S1&US.MT=S4&US.NN=S5&US.NE=S3&US.NV=S3&US.NM=S3&US.OR=S4&US.SD=S2&US.TX=S3&US.UT=S3&US.WA=S3&US.WY=S2" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
RESIDENT: southern interior British Columbia, northern Idaho, western Montana, central Wyoming and southwstern South Dakota south to northern Baja California, southern Nevada, central and southeastern Arizona, central New Mexico, extreme western Texas and extreme western Oklahoma, south in mountains to cental Mexico (AOU 1983). To elevations of 3000 m.