{{Short description|Species of bird (Baeolophus bicolor)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{speciesbox | image = Tufted titmouse (84917).jpg | image_caption = Tufted titmouse | image2 = Tufted Titmouse call.ogg | image2_caption = Call | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Baeolophus bicolor'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22711983A94314102 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22711983A94314102.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Baeolophus | species = bicolor | authority = (Linnaeus, 1766) | range_map = Baeolophus bicolor map.svg | range_map_caption = Approximate distribution map {{leftlegend|#7162c8|Year-round}} | synonyms = ''Parus bicolor'' {{small|Linnaeus, 1766}} }}
The '''tufted titmouse''' ('''''Baeolophus bicolor''')'' is a small songbird native to eastern North America. The species belongs to the tit and chickadee family (Paridae). The black-crested titmouse, found from central and southern Texas southward,<ref>{{cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Kenn |author-link=Kenn Kaufman |date=13 November 2014 |title=Black-crested Titmouse |url=https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/black-crested-titmouse |access-date=13 October 2019 |work=National Audubon Society |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414160237/https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/black-crested-titmouse |url-status=live }}</ref> was included as a subspecies but now is considered a separate species, ''Baeolophus atricristatus''.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/119/3/897/5562277 |date=1 July 2002 |title=Forty-Third Supplement to The American Ornithologists' Union Check-List of North American Birds |journal=The Auk |doi=10.1093/auk/119.3.897 |access-date=13 October 2019 |last1=Banks |first1=Richard C. |author1-link=Richard C. Banks |last2=Cicero |first2=Carla |last3=Dunn |first3=Jon L. |last4=Kratter |first4=Andrew W. |author4-link=species:Andrew W. Kratter |last5=Rasmussen |first5=Pamela C. |author5-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen |last6=Remsen |first6=J.V. |author6-link=James Van Remsen Jr. |last7=Rising |first7=James D. |last8=Stotz |first8=Douglas F. |author8-link=species:Douglas F. Stotz |volume=119 |issue=3 |pages=897–906 |doi-access=free |archive-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026175803/https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/119/3/897/5562277 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Etymology== {{Expand section|date=January 2026}} The generic name ''Baeolophus'' translates to "small crested" and is a compound of the Ancient Greek words {{linktext|βαιός}}: {{Lang|grc-Latn|baiós}} meaning "small", and {{linktext|λόφος}}: {{Transliteration|el|lóphos}} meaning "crest". The specific name ''bicolor'' means "two-colored".
==Description== Measurements:<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Tufted Titmouse Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/id|access-date=2020-09-28|website=www.allaboutbirds.org|language=en}}</ref> * Length: {{convert|14|-|16|cm|in|abbr=on}} * Weight: {{convert|18|-|26|g|oz|abbr=on}} * Wingspan: {{convert|20|-|26|cm|in|abbr=on}}
A small bird, the tufted titmouse has a white front and gray upper body outlined with rust-colored flanks. Other characteristics include its black forehead and the tufted gray crest on its head.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=McCommons|first=James|date=2003|title=Tufted Titmouse|journal=Emmaus|volume=50|page=16|id={{ProQuest|203733124}}}}</ref> In juveniles, the black forehead is greatly diminished such that it may be confused with the oak titmouse, although their ranges do not overlap. Males tend to be larger than females.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) General Biology {{!}}|url=https://pages.vassar.edu/sensoryecology/tufted-titmouse-baeolophus-bicolor-general-biology/|access-date=2022-02-18|language=en-US}}</ref>
The song of the tufted titmouse is usually described as a whistled ''peter-peter-peter'', although this song can vary in about 20 notable ways.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QMfbC_7Wvm8C|title=Tufted Titmouse|last=Grubb|first=Thomas C.|date=1998|publisher=Stackpole Books|isbn=978-0-8117-2967-3|language=en}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== The habitat of the tufted titmouse is deciduous and mixed woods, gardens, parks, and shrublands. Although it is nonmigratory and originally native to the Ohio and Mississippi River basins, factors such as bird feeders have caused it to occupy a larger territory across the United States and stretching into Ontario and Quebec in Canada.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/pdfs/species/TuftefTitmouse.pdf|title=Tufted Titmouse|website=Ohio Birds|access-date=4 May 2018|archive-date=28 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228193530/http://www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/pdfs/species/TuftefTitmouse.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st century, the species' range has been expanding northwards.<ref name=":1" />
==Behavior and ecology== The tufted titmouse gathers food from the ground and from tree branches, frequently consuming a variety of berries, nuts, seeds, small fruits, and insects and other invertebrates.<ref name=":3" /> Caterpillars constitute a major part of its diet during the summer. This species is also a regular visitor to bird feeders.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Titmouse |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/titmouse |access-date=13 October 2019 |last=Montgomery |first=Sy |author-link=Sy Montgomery |archive-date=13 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013175404/https://www.britannica.com/animal/titmouse |url-status=live }}</ref> Its normal pattern is to scout a feeder from cover, fly in to take a seed, then fly back to shelter to consume the morsel, though caching is also very common.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2014-11-13 |title=Tufted Titmouse |url=https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/tufted-titmouse |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=Audubon |language=en |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906041647/http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/tufted-titmouse |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=13 November 2014 |title=Tufted Titmouse – Diet |url=https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/tufted-titmouse |access-date=13 October 2019 |work=National Audubon Society |archive-date=13 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013084141/https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/tufted-titmouse |url-status=live }}</ref>
The tufted titmouse is vocally active and responds to sounds of agitation in other birds.<ref name=":1" /> This species readily forms small flocks, known as troupes or banditries, which often associate with chickadees and other passerines when foraging.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parnell |first=Marc |title=Birds of Connecticut (The Birding Pro's Field Guides) |publisher=Naturalist & Traveler Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-954228-27-6 |location=Cleveland, Ohio |pages=214–215 |language=English |author-link=Marc Parnell}}</ref>
===Breeding and nesting=== Tufted titmice nest in a hole in a tree, either a natural cavity, a human-made nest box, or sometimes an old woodpecker nest.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jfo/v028n03/p0135-p0145.pdf|title=Some Tufted Titmouse Life History|last=Laskey|first=Amelia|access-date=4 May 2018|archive-date=21 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021134531/https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jfo/v028n03/p0135-p0145.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> They line the nest with soft materials, sometimes plucking hair from live mammals to use as material, a behavior known as kleptotrichy.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/tufted-titmouse |title= Tufted Titmouse, Audubon Field Guide |access-date= 2015-08-17 |date= 13 November 2014 |archive-date= 6 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150906041647/http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/tufted-titmouse |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ecy.3501|title=What the pluck? Theft of mammal hair by birds is an overlooked but common behavior with fitness implications|first1=Henry S.|last1=Pollock|first2=Sean E.|last2=MacDonald|first3=Jeferson|last3=Vizentin-Bugoni|first4=Jeffrey D.|last4=Brawn|first5=Zachary S.|last5=Sutton|first6=Mark E.|last6=Hauber|author6-link=Mark Hauber|journal=Ecology|year=2021|volume=102|issue=12|pages=e03501|via=Wiley Online Library|doi=10.1002/ecy.3501|pmid=34314035|bibcode=2021Ecol..102E3501P|s2cid=236453003|url-access=subscription|archive-date=11 June 2024|access-date=11 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240611213518/https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ecy.3501|url-status=live}}</ref> If they find snakeskin sheddings, they may incorporate pieces into their nest.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Medlin|first1=Elizabeth C.|last2=Risch|first2=Thomas S.|date=2006|title=An Experimental Test Of Snake Skin Use To Deter Nest Predation|url=https://zenodo.org/record/956844|journal=The Condor|language=en|volume=108|issue=4|page=963|doi=10.1650/0010-5422(2006)108[963:aetoss]2.0.co;2|s2cid=86039366|issn=0010-5422|doi-access=free|archive-date=23 September 2017|access-date=23 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923194022/https://zenodo.org/record/956844|url-status=live}} * {{cite web |title=The use of sloughed black rat snake ''Elaphe obsoleta'' skins deters predation of artificial nests in nest boxes in forest near Jonesboro, Craighead County, Arkansas, USA |website=Conservation Evidence |url=https://www.conservationevidence.com/ViewEntry.asp?ID=578 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103193934/https://www.conservationevidence.com/ViewEntry.asp?ID=578 |archive-date=2009-01-03 }}</ref> Eggs measure under {{convert|1|inch|cm|abbr=off}} long and are white or cream-colored with brownish or purplish spots.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nestwatch.org/learn/focal-species/tufted-titmouse/|title=Common Nesting birds – Tufted Titmouse (''Baeolophus bicolor)''|work=Nest Watch|access-date=13 October 2019|archive-date=13 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013183813/https://nestwatch.org/learn/focal-species/tufted-titmouse/|url-status=live}}</ref> Eggs have an incubation period of 12–14 days; titmice then remain nestlings for 15–16 days.<ref name=":1" />
The lifespan of the tufted titmouse is roughly 2.1 years, although it can live for more than 10 years.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Elder|first=William H.|date=1985|title=Survivorship in the Tufted Titmouse|url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v097n04/p0517-p0524.pdf|journal=Wilson Bull|volume=97|pages=517–524|archive-date=21 October 2021|access-date=31 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021134532/https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v097n04/p0517-p0524.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Average clutch size is five to seven eggs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Laskey|first=Amelia R.|date=July 1957|title=Some Tufted Titmouse Life History|url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jfo/v028n03/p0135-p0145.pdf|journal=Bird-Banding|volume=28|issue=3|pages=135–145|doi=10.2307/4510633|jstor=4510633|archive-date=21 October 2021|access-date=31 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021134531/https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jfo/v028n03/p0135-p0145.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike many birds, the offspring of tufted titmice often stay with their parents during the winter and even after the first year of their lives.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pravosudova|first1=Elena V.|last2=Grubb|first2=Thomas C.|last3=Parker|first3=Patricia G.|last4=Doherty|first4=Paul F.|date=1999|title=Patch Size and Composition of Social Groups in Wintering Tufted Titmice|jstor=4089699|journal=The Auk|volume=116|issue=4|pages=1152–1155|doi=10.2307/4089699 |url=https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/auk/vol116/iss4/38 }}</ref> Sometimes, a bird born the year before helps its parents raise the next year's young.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/overview |title=All About Birds – Tufted Titmouse |work=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |access-date=13 October 2019 |archive-date=14 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514182458/https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/overview |url-status=live }}</ref>
The tufted titmouse occasionally hybridizes with the black-crested titmouse; the hybridization range is very narrow, however, because of genetic differences.<ref name=":2" />
=== Diet === Annually, nearly two-thirds of the tufted titmouse diet consists of insects. During the summer, caterpillars are an essential part of their diet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tufted Titmouse {{!}} Audubon Field Guide |url=https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/tufted-titmouse#:~:text=Mostly%20insects%20and%20seeds.,Also%20eats%20some%20spiders,%20snails. |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=www.audubon.org |language=en |archive-date=9 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250409201541/https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/tufted-titmouse#:~:text=Mostly%20insects%20and%20seeds.,Also%20eats%20some%20spiders,%20snails. |url-status=live }}</ref> With respect to nuts and seeds, the tufted titmouse primarily prefers sunflower seeds and consumes suet and peanuts, as well. During the fall and winter, the tufted titmouse hoards food. When visiting a feeder, they take one seed per visit and store seeds within 130 feet of the feeder.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tufted Titmouse Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/overview |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=www.allaboutbirds.org |language=en |archive-date=14 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514182458/https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/overview |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Status== From 1966 to 2015, the tufted titmouse population has increased by more than 1.5% per year throughout the northeastern United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tufted & Black-crested Titmouse ''Baeolophus bicolor/atricristatus '' |url=https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/tr2015/trend2015_v3.html |access-date=2019-01-02 |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |department=Patuxent Wildlife Research Center |archive-date=30 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830134956/https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/tr2015/trend2015_v3.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The current breeding population is estimated to be around 8 million.<ref name=":1" />
==Gallery== {{Gallery | mode = packed-hover | align = center | style = padding: 0; | height = 180 | File:TuftedTitmouse Gam.jpg|At a bird feeder | File:I am addicted to their eyes! (3986659743).jpg|Facing forward | File:Tufted titmouse in Prospect Park (53493).jpg|With a seed | File:Tufted titmouse fluffed up (46418)crop.jpg|Fluffed up while preening | File:A_tufted_titmouse_eating_an_insect.jpg|With insect in beak }}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Baeolophus bicolor|Tufted titmouse}} {{Wikispecies|Baeolophus bicolor}} <!-- {{Wikispecies|Baeolophus bicolor}} uses Sibley system not allowed on en:Wikipedia, but gives apparent source for scientific name --> * {{InternetBirdCollection|tufted-titmouse-baeolophus-bicolor|Tufted titmouse}} * [https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/ Tufted titmouse species account] – All About Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) * [https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i7310id.html Tufted titmouse – ''Baeolophus bicolor''] – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter * {{VIREO|Tufted+Titmouse|Tufted titmouse}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q738534}}
tufted titmouse tufted titmouse tufted titmouse Category:Birds of the United States Category:Least concern biota of the United States Category:Native birds of the Eastern United States