Sitta pygmaea

 Identification

The pygmy nuthatch is a small songbird that measures 9-11 cm/3.5-4.3 in long and weighs 9-11 g/0.3-0.4 oz. It has a brown crown, gray or blue-gray back, and a white-tan underside. It has a large head and sometimes has a blackish line through the eye. The tail is short and square, and the bill is straight and sharp. Males and females look similar, as do the adolescents. Females typically have 5-9 eggs, which are white and oval-shaped with red or brown speckles. They are often one of the most abundant bird species in ponderosa pine forests.

Observation Tips

The pygmy nuthatch can be found climbing trees and branches in search for seeds and insects. They eat mostly insects in the breeding season and mostly vegetation in winter. They are highly social, breeding and traveling in extended family groups. The birds are usually constantly moving and chattering. They have a squeaky, nasal chirp, like a rubber duck. The pygmy nuthatch is non-migratory but sometimes moves down in elevation over the winter.  They never nest alone and can always be found nesting in groups, forming larger flocks in the winter. Up to 100 birds have been seen nesting in the same tree cavity.

Interesting Fact

To survive cold nights, pygmy nuthatches huddle together in tree cavities and let their body temperature drop down into hypothermia. They are one of two bird species in North America that uses this combination of energy-saving mechanisms; the other being the Vaux’s Swift.

Ideal Habitat

Pygmy nuthatches inhabit primarily ponderosa pine forests in North America. However, they can also be found with other pine species such as Jeffrey, Bishop, Monterey, Coulter, Arizona white pine, and lodgepole pines. They are more common in forests with high densities of trees and foliar cover and >5% canopy cover. They prefer mature, undisturbed forests with lots of snags. Snags refer to dead trees as well as dead sections of live trees. Pygmy nuthatches excavate new or existing cavities in snags to nest and usually nest in trees >30 ft/9 m tall. They usually adapt existing holes created by woodpeckers. They use smaller trunks and larger entrance cavities in the summer and larger trunks with smaller entrance cavities in the winter.

Range map provided by BirdLife International

Management Activities that Benefit Species – Best Management Practices (BMPs)

Pygmy nuthatches are very reliant on the old-growth forests for survival, so maintain forest structure. Allow dead trees to remain standing and leave 7-12 snags per 1 ha/ 2.5 ac. Minimize the removal of old, large trees. Maintain connectiveness of ponderosa pine habitat. If snags are unavailable, pygmy nuthatches will roost in nest boxes. In this case, it would be beneficial to install nest boxes in undisturbed forest before the breeding season.

Management Activities to Avoid

Avoid activities that reduce ponderosa pine habitat such as timber harvesting and fire suppression. Avoid removing too many large dead trees at once. Minimize insecticide use in areas where pygmy nuthatches occur.

Other Species that Benefit from Similar Habitat Management

Pygmy nuthatches often live alongside other bird species, such as the white and red-breasted nuthatch, mountain chickadee, and Lewis’s woodpecker. Similar management would likely benefit these species as well.

Download

Download the Pygmy nuthatch factsheet

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Other Resources

Audubon Field Guide: Pygmy nuthatch

BirdLife International and Handbook of the Birds of the World. 2019. Bird species distribution maps of the world.  Version 2019.1. Pygmy nuthatch

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies: Fire, Forests and Birds

Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All about Birds: Pygmy Nuthatch

Montana field guide: Pygmy nuthatch

NatureServe. 2019. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1.  NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Pygmy nuthatch

Rocky Mountain National Park: Pygmy nuthatch

USDA Forest Service: Pygmy nuthatch: a technical conservation assessment

Photo credit: Doug Greenberg /Flickr