|
The Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor, is a
small songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family
Paridae.
These birds have grey upperparts and white underparts
with a white face, a grey crest, a dark forehead
and a short stout bill; they have rust-coloured
flanks. The Black-crested Titmouse, which is found
in central and southern Texas and was considered
to be a subspecies of this bird, is now considered
a separate species.
Their breeding habitat is deciduous and mixed
woods in southeastern Canada and the eastern United
States. They nest in a hole in a tree, either
a natural cavity or sometimes an old woodpecker
nest. They line the nest with soft materials,
sometimes plucking hair from a live animal such
as a dog. Sometimes, a bird born the year before
remains to help its parents raise the next year's
young. The pair may remain together and defend
their territory year-round.
These birds are permanent residents and often
join small mixed flocks in winter.
They forage actively on branches, sometimes on
the ground, mainly eating insects, especially
caterpillars, but also seeds, nuts and berries.
They will store food for later use.
The call is a whistled peter-peter-peter.
This bird's range is expanding northwards, possibly
with the increased availability of food at bird
feeders.
The text within
the green border is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License. To see the full
article with more information, visit the Wikipedia
article "Tufted
Titmouse". All content outside the green border
is copyrighted by McBryde
Website Design.
|