I don’t get titmice at my feeders often. They are one of my favorite birds, Today I not only have one visiting but he is singing and calling. I am not sure if the goal is attracting a mate or establishing territory or both but it is a treat.
This is the photo I took of another titmouse about 1 year ago.
Here is a bit about them from Cornell
Tufted titmice (Baeolophus bicolor) are common in the Eastern United States. In fact their populations are increasing and their ranges are expanding northward. They are small gray songbirds with with a short tuft on head. Their black eyes are prominent in a pale gray face. They are 6 inches from beak to tail and have a wingspan of about 8 inches from tip to tip.
Cool Facts Courtesy of the Cornell website:
- Beginning in the 1940s, the Tufted Titmouse began expanding its range northward. Previous to that it was found only as far north as Iowa, Ohio, southern Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Explanations offered for the expansion include global warming, the maturation of abandoned farmlands to forest, and increased number of winter bird feeders.
- The Black-crested Titmouse of Texas and Mexico has at times been considered just a form of the Tufted Titmouse. The two species hybridize where they meet, but the hybrid zone is narrow and stable over time. They differ slightly in the quality of their calls, and show genetic differences as well.
- Unlike many chickadees, Tufted Titmouse pairs do not join larger flocks outside of the breeding season. Instead, most remain on the territory as a pair. Frequently one of their young from that year remains with them, and occasionally other juveniles from other places will join them. Rarely a young titmouse remains with its parents into the breeding season and will help them raise the next year’s brood.
Information about their nesting habits can be found here. Some highlights from this sight.
Titmice nest in pre-existing cavities and nest boxes and tend to have only one brood per year. Nest construction begins between late February and April and takes an average of 4 days. “The nest cup is lined with insulating material like down, wool, hair, fibers, cotton or fur. They have been seen yanking fur out of live mammals and the arms and heads of humans. Hair in various nests has been identified as that of raccoon, opossum, dog, fox squirrel, red squirrel, rabbit, horse, cow, cat, mouse, woodchuck, and humans (Pielou 1957). Rags, string or cloth, feathers and/or a bit of snakeskin may also be used. Like chickadees, they will use fur offered in a suet cage. Until the eggs are laid, it is hard to distinguish the nest from that of a chickadee, although they may use more leaves.”
Once the nest is complete, 3-9 eggs are laid with 5 or 6 being the most common number. “Eggs are smooth and non-glossy, small (but larger than a house wren egg), white to creamy white, with fine chestnut red, hazel, purplish red, brown, purple or lilac speckles or spots which are evenly distributed, with some concentration at the larger end.” Incubation lasts about 13 days.
The chicks eyes begin to open after about 4 days and are completely open by about day 8. By day 10 the down is replaced with feathers and by day 14 the chicks resemble adults. Fledging takes place in about 16-17 days and by 6 weeks the chicks are feeding themselves. The chicks often remain with parents through the first winter and some yearling titmice may stay on to help the parents raise the next season’s brood.
The average life span of a tufted titmouse is about 2 years but the oldest record for one is 13 years and 3 months.
