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Pygmy Nuthatch
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sittidae
Genus: Sitta
Species: pygmaea
La. passer sparrow, small bird
La. forma form, kind, species
Gr. sitte woodpecker like bird
mentioned by Aristotle
Gr. pugmaios dwarfish
La. pygmaea pygmy
Smallest of the nuthatches, about four inches long. Brown
crown, blue-gray or gray-brown back and wings lined with black and sometimes white. |
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small nape patch. Very short tail. Western equivalent of the Brown-headed Nuthatch.
Inhabits mixed and coniferous forests from southern British Columbia, Idaho and western
Montana to southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico.
Builds nests of feathers, leaves and other foliage in natural or abandoned cavities or in
cavities they excavate themselves.
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Lays five to eight, more or less, white speckled eggs that hatch after about two weeks
incubation and young leave the nest within another three weeks.Small groups of pygmy
nuthatches dart throughout pine trees, on trunks, limbs and needles feeding on insects,
spiders, their eggs and larva and pinecone seeds. Nuthatches help control tree parasites
and the diseases spread by insects
The Pygmy Nuthatch Birdhouse (same as for Brown-headed Nuthatch) has a 4" by 4"
floor, 9" inside ceiling, 1 1/8" diameter entrance hole located 7" above
the floor, ventilation openings, hinged roof secured with shutter hooks and screw
assembly. Chickadees, titmice, and other nuthatches may use this box.
Mount this nest box in a coniferous tree between eye level and just out of reach. Place
a few chips on the nest box floor. Resources
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Bruce Horsfall |
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