[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Brown-headed Nuthatches



I've had Brown-headed Nuthatches in the yard for a few weeks.  Last week I 
saw a juvenile who's cap looked more like the color of a Pygmy Nuthatch 
(going by the field guides, I've never actually seen one), it was a grayer, 
muddier brown than the adult Br.-headed's cap.  The field guides that I have 
don't show the juvenile plumage, but I did read about the grayer cap of the 
Br.-headed in an old Bent volume on Nuthatches and Jill Froning said that 
it's also mentioned in the book that she has for bird banding by Pyle, and 
that they retain this plumage for only a few weeks.  That's the first time 
I've seen a juvenile I guess, or maybe it was just more noticeable since it 
was down close to eye level rather than way up in the tops of pines.

This AM while I was near the feeders, one of the Br.-headed Nuthatches 
perched on the top of a pole only a few feet away and chattered at me with 
it's squeaky vioce.  That was definitely the closest I've been to one and it 
is tiny.

Shelley Theye





Shelley Theye
N. Chatham County, NC   (south of Chapel Hill)
Psbmt@aol.com