Pygmy Nuthatch

Description:

The Pygmy Nuthatch is a small bird with a slate-gray back and buffy underside. Males and females look the same, with white chins extending up just below the eyes and gray-brown caps. The edge of the cap is darker than the rest, giving the Pygmy Nuthatch a dark eye-line. Its bill is long and solid, and it has long toes and talons. The white on each side of its short tail can be seen in flight.

Habitat:

Pine trees at Angel Fire New Mexico.

Notes:

Like all nuthatches, they work their way up and down a tree trunk searching for grubs and insects in the bark crevices that other up-climbing tree foragers, such as the woodpecker, would miss. The pygmy nuthatch uses short hops over branches, outermost twigs and pine cones. In the fall, pygmies gather in small flocks and troop through the forests with titmice, warblers, creepers and mountain chickadees.