Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)
Description: The Tufted Titmouse is a small, noisy bird that can be found in Connecticut. It is about 6 inches long, and gray with small patches of red by the wings and eye. They get their name from the tuft of feathers on the head.
Habitat: They make regular visits to feeders and bird baths, and live in deciduous or coniferous forests, and in gardens and parks. They live together in pairs during the year instead of flocking together, like chickadees. They also nest in holes in trees. However, they cannot create these holes themselves. Tufted Titmice recycle holes carved out by woodpeckers and make use of natural holes in trees. For this reason, and for many others, it is important to not cut down dead trees.
Diet: The Tufted Titmouse eats primarily insects which includes caterpillars, beetles, ants and wasps, stink bugs, and treehoppers, as well as spiders and snails. The Tufted Titmouse also eats seeds, nuts, and berries, including acorns and beech nuts.
Behaviors:
Miscellaneous:
Habitat: They make regular visits to feeders and bird baths, and live in deciduous or coniferous forests, and in gardens and parks. They live together in pairs during the year instead of flocking together, like chickadees. They also nest in holes in trees. However, they cannot create these holes themselves. Tufted Titmice recycle holes carved out by woodpeckers and make use of natural holes in trees. For this reason, and for many others, it is important to not cut down dead trees.
Diet: The Tufted Titmouse eats primarily insects which includes caterpillars, beetles, ants and wasps, stink bugs, and treehoppers, as well as spiders and snails. The Tufted Titmouse also eats seeds, nuts, and berries, including acorns and beech nuts.
Behaviors:
- Titmice take advantage of bird feeders by hoarding their seeds in a specific place, usually within a few hundred feet of the feeder
- They line the nest in this hole with hair, which is sometimes taken off live animals. Human hair has even been found lining a Tufted Titmouse’s nest
- The Tufted Titmouse’s call is distinct; it sounds like peter peter peter peter.
Miscellaneous:
- 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.