Dwarf nuthatch

Dwarf nuthatch
	Dwarf nuthatch ( Sitta pygmaea )
Systematics
Order :	Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination :	Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily :	Certhioidea
Family :	Nuthatch (Sittidae)
Genre :	Nuthatch ( sitta )
Type :	Dwarf nuthatch
Scientific name
	Sitta pygmaea
	Vigors , 1839

The dwarf nuthatch ( Sitta pygmaea ) is a songbird native to North America. Due to its lively nature, it is easy to observe in the wild.

features

The 10 cm long dwarf nuthatch weighs 10 g. There is no noticeable gender dimorphism . The plumage is blue-gray on the upper side, whitish on the underside, the hood is gray and there is a whitish spot on the neck.

Occurrence

The distribution area extends from southern British Columbia over the western USA to central Mexico . The dwarf nuthatch usually lives in coniferous forests.

behavior

The dwarf nuthatch looks for insects and seeds in the branches of trees. It climbs the tree trunks less often than larger species of nuthatch.

The dwarf nuthatch is a very sociable bird. Outside the breeding season, it roams around in noisy swarms. Typically more than a dozen birds rest close together. However, over 150 individuals of this type have already been counted on sleeping trees.

Reproduction

The dwarf nuthatch breeds in cavities in dead conifers that are padded with soft material. The female lays four to nine white eggs with fine red-brown spots.

The female takes over most of the breeding business. The young birds hatch after 16 days and leave the nest after another 22 days.

The dwarf nuthatch is one of the few songbirds with a cooperative breeding behavior. About a third of the breeding pairs are supported by one to three male dwarf glues during the breeding business. These are mostly individuals related to the breeding pair.

Subspecies

There are six known subspecies:

S. p. melanotis van Rossem , 1929 - This subspecies occurs from southwestern Canada and the mountains of western and western-central parts of the USA to northwestern Mexico .
S. p. pygmaea Vigors , 1839 - The nominate form occurs in the central coastal areas of California .
S. p. leuconucha Anthony , 1889 - This subspecies is up in southwest California Baja California spread
S. p. elii Phillips, AR , 1986 - This subspecies is found in northern Mexico.
S. p. flavinucha van Rossem , 1939 - This subspecies is common in eastern Mexico.
S. p. brunnescens Norris, RA , 1958 - The range of this subspecies is the southwest of Mexico.

literature

Jonathan Alderfer (Ed.): Complete Birds of North America. National Geographic, Washington DC 2006, ISBN 0-7922-4175-4 .
Nicholas Aylward Vigors in John Richardson, Nicholas Aylward Vigors, George Tradescant Lay, Edward Turner Bennett, Richard Owen, John Edward Gray, William Buckland, George Brettingham Sowerby: The zoology of Captain Beechey's voyage; compiled from the collections and notes made by Captain Beechey, the officers and naturalist of the expedition, during a voyage to the Pacific and Behring's Straits performed in His Majesty's ship Blossom, under the command of Captain FW Beechey, RN, FRS, & c. & c.in the years 1825, 26, 27 and 28 . HG Bohn, London 1839 ( online [accessed March 25, 2015]).
Allan Robert Phillips: The known birds of North and Middle America. Distributions and Variation, Migrations, Changes, Hybrids, etc. Band 1 (Hirundinidae to Mimidae; Certhiidae). Roberts Rinehart Publisher, Denver 1986, ISBN 978-0-9617402-0-7 .
Robert Allen Norris: Comparative Biosystematics and Life History of the Nuthatches Sitta Pygmaea and Sitta Pusilla . In: University of California publications in zoology . tape 56 , no. 2 , 1958, p. 119-300 .
Adriaan Joseph van Rossem: The races of Sitta pygmaea Vigors . In: Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington . tape 42 , 1929, pp. 175–177 ( online [accessed March 25, 2015]).
Adriaan Joseph van Rossem: Four new races of Sittidae and Certhiidae from Mexico . In: Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington . tape 52 , 1939, pp. 3–6 ( online [accessed March 25, 2015]).
Alfred Webster Anthony: New Birds from Lower California and Mexico . In: Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences (= 2 ). tape 2 , 1889, p. 73-82 ( online [accessed March 25, 2015]).

Web links

Commons : Sitta pygmaea - collection of images, videos and audio files

Sitta pygmaea in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on January 1 of 2009.
Videos, photos and sound recordings of Sitta pygmaea in the Internet Bird Collection

Single receipts

↑ ^a ^b Jonathan Alderfer, p. 452.
↑ IOC World Bird List Nuthatches, Wallcreeper, treecreepers, mockingbirds, starlings & oxpeckers
^ Adriaan Joseph van Rossem (1929), p. 176.
^ Nicholas Aylward Vigors, p. 25, plate 4.
^ Alfred Webster Anthony, p. 77.
↑ Allan Robert Phillips p. 107.
^ Adriaan Joseph van Rossem (1939), p. 5.
^ Robert Allen Norris, p. 148.

[alderfer452-1] Jonathan Alderfer, p. 452.

[2] IOC World Bird List Nuthatches, Wallcreeper, treecreepers, mockingbirds, starlings & oxpeckers

[3] Adriaan Joseph van Rossem (1929), p. 176.

[4] Nicholas Aylward Vigors, p. 25, plate 4.

[5] Alfred Webster Anthony, p. 77.

[6] Allan Robert Phillips p. 107.

[7] Adriaan Joseph van Rossem (1939), p. 5.

[8] Robert Allen Norris, p. 148.