Tufted Titmouse - BirdForum Opus

Photo by mw_aurora
Westford, Massachusetts, USA

Baeolophus bicolor

Parus bicolor

Identification

11·5–14 cm (4½-5½ in)

• Grey upperparts
• White face
• Grey crest
• Pale underparts
• Rusty sides
• White lores
• Black forehead

Distribution

Juvenile
Photo © by KC Foggin
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA, June, 2021

Eastern North America: found from south-central Canada (Ontario) to east, central and south-eastern US.

Taxonomy

Photo © by Robert Steffens
Huntington Beach State Park,
South Carolina, USA,
11 April 2021

Black-crested Titmouse was recently split from this species leaving only the nominate subspecies. Not all authorities agree with this split.

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Lowland deciduous and mixed woods as well as gardens, parks and shrubland.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet consists mostly of small invertebrates, such as weevils, beetles, bugs, ants, wasps and bees.They are common at feeders.

Breeding

They are monogamous forming a life-long partnership. Breeding is in early spring. The courtship ritual includes the male offering food to the female. The female builds the nest in a tree hole, either a natural cavity or sometimes an old woodpecker nest. The nest is lined with soft materials, sometimes plucking hair from a live animal such as a dog. There are usually 4-8 white eggs with brown speckles.

Vocalisation

Song: a high whistled Peter, Peter
Calls: several imitations of Black-capped Chickadee
Also, a high, weezy tzeer see

Song containing about 6 repetitions of song of Tufted Titmouse, and one song of Northern Parula between seconds 11-13

Recording © by NJLarsen, Caw Caw Interpretive Center, South Carolina, USA, 2 May 2023

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Ritchison, G., T. C. Grubb Jr., and V. V. Pravosudov (2020). Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.tuftit.01
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Tufted Titmouse. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Tufted_Titmouse

External Links

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