Pigmjr Nuthatch 501 



Breckenridge (Cooke), Sapinero Creek, Gunnison co., October (Warren), 

 Wet Mountains up to 10,000 feet (Lowe), Fort Garland, breeding 

 (Henshaw). 



Habits. — This little Nuthatch is more sociable than 

 the previous species, and is often seen in small flocks, 

 especially in winter. Henshaw describes it as being 

 very brisk and busy, the male hunting with great energy 

 for insects for the incubating female, though both sexes 

 assist in this duty. Henshaw found a single nest among 

 the pine woods near Fort Garland early in June. This was 

 placed in a hole in a rotten pine stub about five inches 

 deep, the nest itself being lined with pine bark ; Gale 

 found a nest about fifteen feet up in an old aspen treC) 

 on June 4th ; it was made of wood fibre and strips of aspen 

 bark, and differed from that of the Rocky -Mountain 

 Nuthatch in having no fur or feathers. The eggs, four 

 or five, are white, slightly rosy-tinted when unblown, 

 thinly spotted with reddish dots confluent at the larger 

 end ; thej^ measure '60 x '50. 



Pigmy Nuthatch. Sitta pygmcea. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 730— Colorado Records — Aiken 72, p. 195 

 Henshaw 74, p. 175 ; Trippe 75, p. 230 ; Scott 79, p. 92 ; Drew 85, p. 15 

 Morrison 86, p. 28 ; 88, p. 72 ; Norris 88, p. 173 ; Kellogg 90, p. 89 

 Lowe 94, p. 270 ; McGregor 97, p. 39 ; Cooke 97, pp. 122, 222 ; Hen 

 derson 03, p. 237 ; 09, p. 241 ; GHman 07, p. 195 ; Warren 08, p. 25 

 09, p. 17 ; Gary 09, p. 184. 



Description. — Adult — Crown and hind neck greyish-olive, rest of 

 the upper surface blueish-grey, becoming dusky on the wings ; a more 

 or less concealed whitish spot at the junction of nape and back ; central 

 tail-feathers like the back, with white at the base of the inner web, 

 black at the base of the outer ; rest of the tail-feathers black, the outer 

 two pairs crossed by an oblique band of white ; below pale buffy, 

 becoming nearly white on the throat and blueish on the flanks ; iris 

 dark brown, bill black, grey on the base of the lower mandible ; 

 legs dusky-horn. Length of a female 4-10; wing 2-50; tail 1-30; 

 culmen -50 ; tarsus -55. 



The sexes are alike ; the young birds have the crown the same colour 

 as the back and the flanks, and under-parts very pale buSy. 



