From Opus

Photo by jvhigbee
Yakima Country, Washington, USA, April 2005

Sitta pygmaea

[edit] Identification

10-11 cm

• Blue grey above
• Grey-brown cap
• Indistinct black eye line
• Faint white smudge at base of nape
• Creamy white below

[edit] Distribution

United States and Mexico.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

• S. p. melanotis:

• British Columbia to north-western Mexico (Sonora and north-western Coahuila)

• S. p. pygmaea:

• Western California (Mendocino County to San Luis Obispo County)

• S. p. leuconucha :

• Southern California (San Jacinto and Laguna mts.) to northern Baja California

• S. p. chihuahuae :

• Western Mexico (Sierra Madre Occidental of north-eastern Sonora to northern Jalisco)

• S. p.a brunnescens:

• South-western Mexico (southern Jalisco and Michoacán)

• S. p. flavinucha:

• Western Veracruz (Mount Orizaba) to western Puebla, Morelos and México

• S. p. elii:

• Eastern Mexico (south-western Nuevo León and se Coahuila)

[edit] Habitat

Mixed conifer and open forests and desert scrub. Montain old growth mixed pines and cedar trees

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

Regularly visits bird feeders, storing nuts and seeds for later consumption. Forages in the trunk and branches for insects and larvae.

[edit] Breeding

A cavity nester, the 5-9 white eggs, with reddish-brown speckles, are laid in a nest made of soft material.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. eNature
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

[edit] External Links