I came upon at least three Brown-headed Nuthatches along a wooded trail at St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park. They appeared to be taking turns drinking water collected in the leaves of an epiphyte attached to the branch high in the tree.



These birds are Florida’s smallest cavity-nesters and, according to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Services, “These birds often nest in small cracks and crevices that do not have noticeable rounded openings like woodpecker holes.” These birds are also incredibly small, which is recognized in their Latin name, Sitta pusilla. Sittidae as a name given by Aristotle to birds that peck at the bark of trees. And pusilla being petty as in small.