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Re: Pygmy nuthatch?





Check out A.C. Bent's life history for Brown-headed Nuthatch
(available online at
http://www.birdzilla.com/omnibus.asp?strType=Bent&strTitle=Brown%2Dheaded+Nuthatch&strURL=brown_headed_nuthatch.htm
That address is a bit long so try www.birdzilla.com and follow the
links if it doesn't come out right).

Anyway, Bent describes the Gray-headed Nuthatch as a newly discovered
(at the time, early 1900s) subspecies of the Brown-headed Nuthatch from
Florida.  I believe current thinking is that the gray-headed
Brown-headed Nuthatches are just a result of individual variation
(perhaps a color morph) and not a valid subspecies.  They have been
recorded from areas away from Florida and I remember similar discussion
a couple of years ago on one of the SE US listservs (Carolinas, TN
or Alabama probably).  I believe the Helm guide to Chickadees,
Titmice, Nuthatches and Treecreepers discusses this as well but
it's at the house and I'm at work.

Dean Edwards
Knoxville, TN
kde@utk.edu