Brown-headed Nuthatch

SCI Name:  Sitta pusilla
Protonym:  Sitta pusilla IndexOrn. 1 p.263
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Sittidae / Sitta
Taxonomy Code:  bnhnut
Type Locality:  Carolina, Jamaica [= South Carolina, fide Wayne, 1917, Contr. Charleston Mus., no. 3, p. 8].
Author:  Latham
Publish Year:  1790
IUCN Status:  

DEFINITIONS

SITTA
(Sittidae; Ϯ Eurasian Nuthatch S. europaea) Late Med. L. sitta (Turner 1544) nuthatch  < Gr. σιττη sittē  bird like a woodpecker mentioned by Aristotle, Callimachus, and Hesychius; "55. SITTA.  Rostrum subcultrato-conicum, rectum, porrectum: integerrimum, mandibula superiore obtusiuscula.  Lingua lacero-emarginata." (Linnaeus 1758); "Sitta Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, p. 115. Type, by monotypy, Sitta europaea Linnaeus." (Greenway in Peters 1967, XII, 125). Linnaeus's Sitta comprised a single species.
Var. Sitla, Sida.
Synon. Arctositta, Callisitta, Cyanositta,  Dendrophila, Homositta, Leptositta, Melositta, Mesositta, Micrositta, Oenositta, Orthorynchus, Poecilositta, Poliositta, Rupisitta, Sittella.

pusilla
L. pusillus  very little, very small  < dim. pusus  little boy  < puer  boy.
● ex “Cinclus dominicensis minor” of Brisson 1760 (Calidris).
● ex “Small Nuthatch” of Catesby 1731, “Petit Torchepot de la Caroline” of Brisson 1760, and “Petite Sittelle à tête brune” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Sitta).
● ex “Little Sparrow” of Catesby 1731 (Spizella).
● "59. CERTHIA.  ...  pusilla.  2. C. supra grisea, subtus alba, rectricibus fuscis: extimis apice albis.  Certhia fusca minor. Edw. av. 26. l. 26.  Habitat in India." (Linnaeus 1758) (unident.; nom. dub.).

SUBSPECIES

Brown-headed Nuthatch (Southeast)
SCI Name: Sitta pusilla pusilla
pusilla
L. pusillus  very little, very small  < dim. pusus  little boy  < puer  boy.
● ex “Cinclus dominicensis minor” of Brisson 1760 (Calidris).
● ex “Small Nuthatch” of Catesby 1731, “Petit Torchepot de la Caroline” of Brisson 1760, and “Petite Sittelle à tête brune” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Sitta).
● ex “Little Sparrow” of Catesby 1731 (Spizella).
● "59. CERTHIA.  ...  pusilla.  2. C. supra grisea, subtus alba, rectricibus fuscis: extimis apice albis.  Certhia fusca minor. Edw. av. 26. l. 26.  Habitat in India." (Linnaeus 1758) (unident.; nom. dub.).

Brown-headed Nuthatch (Grand Bahama)
SCI Name: Sitta pusilla insularis
insularis
L. insularis  of an island  < insula, insulae  island.
● Ceylon (= Sri Lanka) (syn. Accipiter badius, subsp. Chloropsis aurifrons, subsp. Dicrurus caerulescens, subsp. Prinia inornata).
● New Caledonia (syn. Accipiter fasciatus vigilax).
● Phu-Quoc I., Cochin China (=Vietnam) (subsp. Aethopyga siparaja).
● Andaman Is., Bay of Bengal (subsp. Amaurornis phoenicurus).
● Bahrain, Arabian Gulf (subsp. Ammomanes deserti)
● Erroneous TL. Madagascar (= Zanzibar) (subsp. Andropadus importunus).
● Santa Cruz I., Channel Is., California, USA (subsp. Aphelocoma californica, subsp. Eremophila alpestris).
● Rennell I., Solomon Is. (Aplonis).
● Jobi I. (= Japen = Yapen), New Guinea (Arses, subsp. Pachycephalopsis hattamensis).
● Sardinia (Bubo).
● Fernando Póo (= Bioko), Gulf of Guinea (syn. Campethera tullbergi, syn. Cinnyris chloropygius).
● Isla Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico (syn. Cathartes aura, subsp. Cyclarhis gujanensis).
● Aldabra, Indian Ocean (subsp. Centropus toulou).
● Sardinia (syn. Coccothraustes coccothraustes).
● Grand Cayman, Caribbean Sea (subsp. Columbina passerina).
● New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea (Corvus).
● Formosa/Taiwan (subsp. Dendrocopos leucotos, Myophonus, syn. Garrulus bispecularis).
● Borneo (syn. Dicrurus paradiseus).
● Nicobar Is., Bay of Bengal (syn. Ducula aenea nicobarica).
● Corsica (syn. Emberiza calandra, syn. Saxicola rubicola).
● Socotra (subsp. Emberiza tahapisi, Passer).
● Weda Is., Halmahera, Indonesia (syn. Eos squamata).
● Tres Marías Is., Nayarit, Mexico (Forpus, subsp. Myadestes occidentalis, subsp. Nyctidromus albicollis, subsp. Pachyramphus aglaiae, subsp. Setophaga pitiayumi, syn. Zenaida asiatica).
● Lord Howe I., Tasman Sea (syn. Fregetta grallaria, ‡Gerygone).
● Rottnest I., Western Australia (syn. Gavicalis virescens).
● Meco I., Quintana Roo, Mexico (subsp. Habia fuscicauda).
● Ship I., off Gulfport, Mississippi, USA (syn. Hirundo rustica erythrogaster).
● Tobago (Hylophilus, subsp. Platyrinchus mystaceus, subsp. Psarocolius decumanus).
● Isla Guadalupe, Baja California, Mexico (Junco).
● Isla Margarita, Venezuela (syn. Leptotila verreauxi,  subsp. Quiscalus lugubris).
● New Providence, Bahamas (sym. Leuconotopicus villosus maynardi).
● King I., Bass Strait, Australia (syn. Melithreptus brevirostris).
● Kangean Is., Java Sea, Indonesia (subsp. Oriolus chinensis).
● Fergusson I., D'Entrecasteaux Is., Papua New Guinea (Otidiphaps).
● Mahé I., Seychelles (Otus).
● Kodiak I., Alaska, USA (subsp. Passerella unalaschcensis).
● Honshu, Japan (subsp. Periparus ater).
● Stewart I., New Zealand (syn. Poodytes punctatus).
● Henderson I., Pitcairn Group, Pacific Ocean (Ptilinopus).
● Naochow I., Kwangtung, China (syn. Pycnonotus aurigaster resurrectus).
● Banggai I., North Borneo (syn. Pycnonotus plumosus hachisukae).
● Madagascar (Sarothrura, subsp. Thalassornis leuconotus).
● Forsyth I., Bass Strait, Australia (syn. Sericornis frontalis).
● Grand Bahama I., Bahamas (Sitta).
● Trinidad (syn. Sporophila intermedia).
● Nias I., Sumatra (subsp. Terpsiphone affinis).
● Terangan I., Aru Is., Indonesia (syn. Todiramphus macleayii).
● Isla Socorro, Colima, Mexico (syn. Troglodytes sissonii).
● Erroneous TL. São Vicente, Cape Verde Is. (= St. Vincent, West Indies) (subsp. Tyto glaucops).
● Vancouver I., British Columbia, Canada (syn. Vireo huttoni).
● Stephens I., Cook Strait, New Zealand (‡syn. Xenicus lyalli).
● Curaçao, Dutch Antilles (subsp. Zonotrichia capensis).
● Tanegashima, south of Kyushu, Japan (subsp. Zosterops japonicus).