Pygmy Nuthatch – At a feederSitta pygmaea September – Colorado L=4.25” ...... WS=7.75” ...... WT=0.4 oz Order: Passeriformes (Passerine Birds) Family: Sittadae (Nuthatches) Nuthatches acquired their name due to their habit of placing a nut or other hard food item in a bark crevice and hammering it until it opens thus “hatching the nut”. Hatch is thought to be a corruption of the old English term hack. Pygmy Nuthatches roost in tree cavities which are picked for insulation and ventilation according to the season. Additionally, they are capable of controlled hypothermia and will have communal roosting to retain heat during cold periods.
Little Blue Heron – About to dive for fish Egretta caerylea March – Texas L=26” ...... WS=36” ....... WT=13 oz Order: Ciconiiformes (Herons, Ibises, Storks, New World Vultures, Allies) Family: Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, Bitterns) Little Blue Herons winter along the U.S. Gulf Coast and in Mexico and breed in the southeast U.S. through Texas. They are often overlooked in wetland environments because of their dark adult plumage and somewhat secretive and solitary feeding habits. It is unque amonsgt herons as its first year plumage is white whereas its mature plumage is slate blue. Immature birds are often mistaken for other white herons. Since Little Blue Herons are dark and do not have aigrette plumes, they largely excaped the plume hunters.
