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Re: Pygmy nuthatch?



We have also noticed that some of the adults also have considerably
lighter heads.  We had a breeding pair in Asheville that had very
different plumage and always presumed it was the Female with the lighter
head but had no evidence to back it up.  I have never seen this
described in any book.

Pygmy's also prefer much higher elevations in the west so that is
another reason to doubt this one.

Tim Lewis
Weaverville, NC
tlewis@buncombe.main.nc.us



> Lucille and All,
>     What your cat killed was more likely a juvenile Brown-headed
Nuthatch.
> I, too, had at least one at my feeders this summer, and looked them up
in the
> same 2 field guides and thought hmmm....  then, nah, no way.  I had to
read
> futher in other non-field guide bird books, and ask my friend Jill F.,
who
> has the P. Pyle book that banders use, to find out that the juvenile
> Brown-headed has a grayer cap, more like the Pygmy's.
>     I don't understand why the guides don't show the juvenile plumage
of this
> bird, or at least mention it, to avoid confusion.  The books did say
that
> this plumage is only kept for about three weeks.
>
> Shelley Theye
>
> N. Chatham County
> Psbmt@aol.com
>