Pigmy 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 tree, 
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; they measure ‘60 x ‘50. 
Pigmy Nuthatch. Sitta pygmea. 
A.0.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; Gilman 07, p. 195; Warren 08, p. 25 ; 
09, p. 17; Cary 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 bufty,. 
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 buffy. 
