This week’s Bird of the Week, compliments of the Weminuche Audubon Society and Audubon Rockies, is the pygmy nuthatch.
This bird is just so adorable. One could fit in the palm of your hand, and just might land there if you hold out sunflower seeds. Its back and wings are bluish gray and undersides are whitish. For the pygmy’s size, its head with a brown wash appears large and it supports a straight, sharp bill.
When they visit sunflower or suet feeders, these tiny birds are easy to observe, but finding them in the ponderosa pine forests they inhabit will have you craning your neck and watching for movement in the canopy. In search of insects and seeds, pygmies are in constant motion, traveling head first up and down the tree trunk and along the branches, either right side up or upside down. They investigate cracks and scale loose bark, caching seeds for later consumption, and also glean insects from needles and cones.
In addition to just looking cute, several behaviors make these birds lovable. They often travel in large groups, where their constant chatter calls have been compared to rubber ducky peeps. In all seasons they are sociable and typically travel in flocks of five to 15 birds. In groups they survive cold winter temperatures by huddling together within a tree cavity and lowering their body temperatures to conserve energy. As many as 150 birds have been counted exiting a single roost cavity on a winter morning.
Pairs form long-term bonds and remain together year-round. The male is very attentive to the female, providing food for her from courtship through incubation. Family togetherness often extends into nesting season, when grown offspring of the pair act as nest helpers by helping to construct a cavity nest and defend it, and by feeding the incubating female and young. Until the eggs hatch, helpers and both parents may all roost together in the nest cavity at night.
With chicks recently fledged, many songbirds, including this one, may be seen now feeding young and teaching them how to survive on their own.
For information on events, visit www.weminucheaudubon.org and www.facebook.com/weminucheaudubon/.