General Description: Pygmy Nuthatches (Sitta pygmaea) are small birds with a dark, blue-gray back, a white front, a gray cap, and a black eyeline that blends with the gray cap. The bill is long, straight, and heavy for such a small bird, with a slight upturned appearance at the tip. Sometimes a white spot on the back of the head (nape) can be seen.

Taxonomy: Passeriformes, Sittidae, Sittinae.

Favored Habitat: Forests.

Where to Find: Higher elevation areas from the Pinyon-Juniper zone up to treeline. The canyon above Willow Springs at Red Rock Canyon NCA has lots of pinyon pines, and most areas up on Mt. Charleston have trees.

Comments: Nuthatches forage on tree trunks and branches, walking up, down, and around looking for bugs behind flakes of bark.