NUTHATCHES AND CREEPERS 



205 



PYGMY NUTHATCH 

 Sitta pygmaea pygmasa J'igors 



General Description. — Length. 4'_- inches. Upper 

 parts, gray; under parts, white and huffy-white. 



Color. — Crown and hindneck. plain Hght grayish- 

 olive or olive-gray, the lower central portion of the 

 latter with concealed portion of feathers, huffy white 

 or pale buff; lores and space back of eyes, blackish or 

 dusky; back, shoulders, wing-coverts (except primary 

 coverts), inner wing-quills, rump, upper tail-coverts, 

 and middle pair of tail-feathers, plain deep bluish-gray, 

 the last with a conspicuous elongated patch of white; 

 rest of tail, black, the three outermost feathers tipped 

 with slate color (very broadly on outer one), the two 

 outer, on each side, crossed, obliquely, by a broad bar 

 or band of white; under the eye, lower half of ear 

 regions, and cheeks, chin, and upper throat, .white or 



huffy white; rest of under parts, dull butty white, 

 passing mto pale bluish-gray on sides and flanks: iris, 

 brown. 



Nest and Eggs.— Nest: Behind bark crevices or in 

 holes in trees, from 20 feet up, usually in coniferous 

 wood and mountainous sections; constructed of 

 leathers, plant down, bits of wool, and animal fur. 

 Kggs: 6 to 9, crystal white, speckled with Indian 

 red. 



Distribution. — Mountains of western Nortli America 

 and Mexico, in coniferous forests: north to British 

 Columbia (Vancouver Island and interior); south to 

 southern Mexico ; east to Montana, Wyoming, Colo- 

 rado and New Mexico; casual in South Dakota and 

 Nebraska. 



If tlie Nuthatch is the small boy of the 

 feathered tree-climbers, the PyK'ny 's the smallest 

 and most boyish of the " gang." Gregarious and 

 good-natured, he travels in small but noisy flocks 

 through the woods, making a great disturbance 

 over the business of getting something to eat, and 

 enjoying life meanwhile. His companions may 

 be Chickadees, other Nuthatches, Downies, King- 

 lets, or even \\'arb!ers, but he is always very 

 much in evidence and has fully as much to say as 

 any of his comrades. Sometimes he quarrels 

 with the Bluebird when he finds that gentle spirit 

 in possession of a nesting hole which he rather 

 fancies, but generally he is eminently good- 

 natured and not looking for trouble. 



Pygmy has the upside-down habits of his im- 

 mediate relatives, but in an even more pro- 

 nounced form, and incidentally is more bnli- 

 tailed than they are. In fact, his tail is little 

 more than an apology for a tail, and he is not 

 in the least dependent upon it, whether he is 

 going upstairs or down. Lacking this fulcrum he 

 hasn't the carpentering ability of the \\'ond- 

 peckers ; but he isn't in the least averse to ham- 

 mering, nevertheless, and for such a midget he 

 can strike quite a formidable blow when he is 

 really in earnest about it. Like his Red-breasted 

 cousin he does most of his hunting in coniferous 

 trees, and he conducts his search with much 

 activity and perseverance, though it must be 

 admitted that his operations seem rather hastv 

 and haphazard. A Canadian observer reports 

 that Pygmy has a curious habit of caulking with 

 hair holes and seams around its nest, and some- 

 times for no apparent reason, since the caulking 

 may serve no necessary or useful purpose. 



The White-naped Nuthatch (Sitta pxgmcra 



Icuconnclia) is larger than his congener, the 

 Pygmy; es])ecially is his bill of greater jiropor- 

 tions. The white spot on the back of the neck 

 is larger; the gray of the head grayer: .grav of 



Drawing by R. Bruce Horsfall 



PYGMY NUTHATCH 



the back less bluish ; and the under parts less 

 strongly buff. He is found from San Diego 

 county, California, south to San Pedro Martir 

 Afountains. Lower California. 



