Bird guide · Sitta pygmaea
Pygmy Nuthatch
What the pygmy nuthatch eats, where it lives, when it comes to feeders and how to recognise it – with sightings from every US state.
- Season
- Year-round resident
- Size
- 3.9 in (10 cm)
- Eats
- seeds, suet
- Feeds
- tube, suet cage
- Most common
- Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona
Food
What do pygmy nuthatches eat?
At feeders, pygmy nuthatches take seeds, suet.
Winters in talkative flocks of 5–15 birds that roost together in one cavity.
Feeder that suits it
A suet cage on a tree trunk or pole; peanuts and sunflower hearts work too.
Range
Where do pygmy nuthatches live?
Ponderosa and other pine forests of the West. By share of all bird sightings, pygmy nuthatches are most common in Colorado (0.5%).
States where pygmy nuthatches are most common
- Colorado0.5%
- New Mexico0.4%
- Arizona0.3%
- California0.2%
- Nevada0.2%
- Montana0.2%
- Oregon0.2%
- Idaho0.1%
- Washington0.09%
- South Dakota0.06%
Share of all bird sightings in each state that are pygmy nuthatches, 2019–2024.
Season
Does the pygmy nuthatch migrate?
Year-round resident. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in August.
Share of all bird sightings in the US that are pygmy nuthatches, by month.
Identification
How to identify the pygmy nuthatch
Adults: Grey-brown cap down to the eye, white nape spot, grey back.
Size: 3.9 in (10 cm)
On camera
Getting the pygmy nuthatch on a feeder camera
Pick a camera feeder that takes a suet cage, or mount a separate camera next to a suet feeder on the trunk – woodpeckers cling to the bark while they feed.
Questions
Pygmy Nuthatch: questions
What do pygmy nuthatches eat?
At feeders, seeds, suet.
Do pygmy nuthatches migrate?
Year-round resident. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in August.
Where do pygmy nuthatches live?
By share of all bird sightings, they are most common in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada. They are rare or absent in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia.