WINTER BACKYARD BIRDS (U.S. AND CANADA)

Tufted Titmouse

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Baeolophus Bicolor

Tufted Titmouse

Both sexes are similar.

Adults have gray upperparts and darker flight feathers.

Face and underparts are white, and it has rusty flanks.

Eyes are black, with a dark eye ring, giving an impression of large size.

Legs are blue-gray and lores are pale buff.

Juveniles resemble adults but with paler forehead, upperparts tinged with a brownish and grayer chest.

BILL: black, short.

SIZE: measures about 5.5 - 6.3 inches in length, with a wingspan of 7.9 - 10.2 inches.

WEIGHT: weighs about 18 - 26 grams.

COLOR: gray, blue-gray, white, black, pale buff, and rust.

SUMMER: invertebrates, insects (caterpillars, beetles, wasps, ants, and bees), spiders and snails.

WINTER: berries, fruits, acorns, nuts and seeds, and suet and bread from feeders.

Eats regularly snow when water is not available.

Deciduous woods or mixed evergreen- deciduous woods, typically in areas with a dense canopy and many tree species, also common in orchards, parks, and suburban areas.

The eastern half of the United States.

They are noisy birds. Their typical song is a loud whistled “peta-peta-peta”.

Their alarm call is a high-pitched alarm call if a hawk is flying overhead and a hiss if its eggs are threatened.

They also have a variety of whispers and warbles.

NEST: cup-shaped nests inside the nest cavity made of damp leaves, moss and grasses, and bark strips. Lined with soft materials such as hair, fur, wool, and cotton.

EGGS: 5 - 6 eggs, smooth and non-glossy, whitish, speckled and spotted with varied colors.

INCUBATION: 12 - 14 days, female fed by the male.

FLEDGLING PHASE: 15 - 16 days.

They flit from branch to branch of the forest canopy looking for food, often in the company of other species including nuthatches, chickadees, kinglets, and woodpeckers.

They are dominant at feeders, chasing away other small birds.