Southeast Birds

Description

The male Tufted Titmouse has a gray head and back. His legs and feet are also gray. His wings are mostly gray with black edges, as is his long tail feathers. He has a black patch over his black beak and white that runs around his eyes and to his chest and belly. His sides underneath his wings are orange in color.

The female and the juvenile are the same as the male.

They are a small bird weighing in at .5 to 1 ounce. They are between 5.5 to 6.5 inches in length with a wingspan of 8 to 10 inches.

Habitat

The Tufted Titmouse is mostly found in the Eastern region of The United States and prefers a more wet woodlands or mixed evergreens. Their numbers are larger in areas with heavy rainfall than in drier areas.

It is not uncommon to find them at backyard feeders. They nest in tree cavities but because they can’t excavate their own hole, they build their nests in holes vacated by woodpeckers or other cavity dwelling birds, and line them with animal hair, leaves, or grass. They are also known to nest in nesting boxes provided by humans.

They are often found in flocks with Chickadees, Woodpeckers, nuthatches, and other types of small birds during breeding season. This is why when you see these types of birds, you normally see the Titmouse. The rest of the year they stay in pairs and care for their young.

Diet

The Tufted Titmouse prefers insects, spiders, berries, seeds, and nuts in their diet. They quickly jump from tree to tree looking for insects or spiders and frequent backyard feeders for seeds.

They will normally hold seeds with their feet and open them with their beak. Just like the Chickadee, the Titmouse will hide their food in many different places and remember every hiding place.

Facts

- The Tufted Titmouse incubation period is 12 to 14 days and the clutch size is 3 to 10 eggs.

- Their eggs are creamy white and brown spotted. Sometimes egg spots can be red or purple.

- It is not uncommon for one of a pairs young to stick around and help raise next years young.

- They are resident birds that live their whole life just a few miles from where they are born.

- The hair they use for building their nests can sometimes come from live animals. (I would like to see that just once)

Learn more from Wikipedia

Tufted Titmouse