Pygmy Nuthatch vs Velvet-fronted Nuthatch

Pygmy Nuthatch

Sitta pygmaea

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The pygmy nuthatch is 9–11 cm (3.5–4.3 in) long and with a wingspan of 19.7 cm (7.8 in), and weighs 9.3–11.4 g (0.33–0.40 oz). It ranges from southern British Columbia south through various discontinuous parts of the western U.S. (northwest U.S., Sierra Nevada range, southern Rockies, etc.), to central Mexico. It is usually found in pines (especially ponderosa pine), douglas-fir, and other conifers. Pygmy nuthatches clamber acrobatically in the foliage of these trees, feeding on insects and seeds; less often they creep along limbs or the trunk like bigger nuthatches.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Len Blumin · CC BY 2.0

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch

Sitta frontalis

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The velvet-fronted nuthatch has the typical nuthatch shape, short tail and powerful bill and feet. It is a small nuthatch, 12–13.5 cm long. It is violet-blue above, with lavender cheeks, buffy grey underparts, yellow eyes, and a whitish throat. The iris is distinctly pale and yellow. The bill is orange-red to bright red, and there is a black patch on the forehead and lores which is well developed in adults and less so in younger birds. The legs vary in colour between different subspecies (see #Subspecies, below). Young birds have a dark beak and dark tips to the undertail coverts.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ben Costamagna · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Pygmy Nuthatch and Velvet-fronted Nuthatch.