Tufted Titmouse Bird

The Tufted titmouse bird. Scientific name for Tufted titmouse bird is Baeolophus bicolor". The Tufted titmouse bird is a small songbird from North America, a species in the tit and chickadee family-(Paridae family)

The Paridae have grey upper parts and white under parts with a white face, a grey crest, a dark forehead and a short stout bill; they have rust-colored flanks. The song is usually described as a whistled peter-peter-peter. The Paridae make a variety of different sounds, most having a similar tone quality.

Identification Tips for Tufted titmouse birds:

Length: 4.5-5.5 inches 14–16 cm
Wingspan: 7.9–10.2 in 20–26 cm Short bill
Gray crest
Dark forehead
Pale gray upperparts
White underparts
Rusty flanks
Birds from central and southern Texas (formerly a separate species, Black-crested Titmouse) have black crests and pale foreheads
Sexes similar
Often found in small flocks


The habitat is deciduous and mixed woods as well as gardens, parks and shrubland in the eastern United States, Tufted titmouse birds are rarely reported at elevations above 2,000 feet (). The range is expanding northwards, possibly due to increased availability of winter food at bird feeders.

The Tufted titmouse bird mainly eat insects, especially caterpillars, but also seeds, nuts and berries. Tufted titmouse bird hoard food in fall and winter, a behavior they share with many of their relatives, including the chickadees and tits. They are more shy when seen at bird feeders; their normal pattern there is to scout the feeder from the cover of trees or bushes, fly to the feeder, take a seed, and fly back to cover to eat it. Tufted titmouse birds take advantage of a bird feeder’s bounty by storing many of the seeds they get. Experiments with Tufted Titmice indicate they always choose the largest seeds they can when foraging.

Tufted titmouse bird nest in a hole in a tree, either a natural cavity or sometimes an old woodpecker nest. The Tufted titmouse bird line the nest with soft materials, sometimes plucking hair from a live animal such as a raccoon, opossum, dog, fox squirrel, red squirrel, rabbit, horse, cow, cat, mouse, woodchuck, and even human hair in Tufted titmouse bird nests. Their eggs are under an inch long and are white or cream-colored with brownish or purplish spots. The pair may remain together and defend their territory year-round. The Tufted titmouse birds are permanent residents and often join small mixed flocks in winter.