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Tufted Titmouse

 
Tufted Titmouse

 
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Tufted Titmouse
 
 
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The Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor, is a small songbird
Songbird

A songbird or oscine is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of Passerine , in which the syrinx is developed in such a way as to produce various sound notes, commonly known as bird song....
 from North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
, a species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 in the tit and chickadee family (Paridae). The Black-crested Titmouse
Black-crested Titmouse

The Black-crested Titmouse, Baeolophus atricristatus , is a small songbird, a passerine bird in the titmouse family Paridae. Once considered a subspecies of the Tufted Titmouse , it is now recognized as a separate species....
, found from central and southern Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 southwards, was included as a subspecies
Subspecies

In biology, subspecies is the taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a species. A subspecies is a taxonomic group which is less distinct than the Common descent or species from which it originates....
 but is now considered a separate species B. atricristatus. These birds have grey upperparts and white underparts with a white face, a grey crest, a dark forehead and a short stout bill
Beak

The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which, in addition to eating, is used for Personal grooming#In animals, manipulating objects, killing prey, probing for food, Courtship#Courtship in the animal kingdom and feeding their young....
; they have rust-coloured flanks.






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The Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor, is a small songbird
Songbird

A songbird or oscine is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of Passerine , in which the syrinx is developed in such a way as to produce various sound notes, commonly known as bird song....
 from North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
, a species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 in the tit and chickadee family (Paridae). The Black-crested Titmouse
Black-crested Titmouse

The Black-crested Titmouse, Baeolophus atricristatus , is a small songbird, a passerine bird in the titmouse family Paridae. Once considered a subspecies of the Tufted Titmouse , it is now recognized as a separate species....
, found from central and southern Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 southwards, was included as a subspecies
Subspecies

In biology, subspecies is the taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a species. A subspecies is a taxonomic group which is less distinct than the Common descent or species from which it originates....
 but is now considered a separate species B. atricristatus. These birds have grey upperparts and white underparts with a white face, a grey crest, a dark forehead and a short stout bill
Beak

The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which, in addition to eating, is used for Personal grooming#In animals, manipulating objects, killing prey, probing for food, Courtship#Courtship in the animal kingdom and feeding their young....
; they have rust-coloured flanks. The song is usually described as a whistled peter-peter-peter. They make a variety of different sounds, most having a similar tone quality.

The habitat
Habitat

The term habitat has a number of meanings:* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows** Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play...
 is deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
 and mixed woods as well as gardens, parks and shrubland in the eastern United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
; they barely range into southeastern Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 in the Great Lakes
Great Lakes

The St. Lawrence River Great Lakes are a chain of fresh water lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada ? United States border. Consisting of Lakes Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth....
 region. They are all-year residents in the area effectively circumscribed by the Great Plains
Great Plains

The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada....
, the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an oceanic basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba....
 and the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
. The range is expanding northwards, possibly due to increased availability of winter food at bird feeder
Bird feeder

A birdfeeder, bird feeder, or bird table is a device placed out-of-doors to supply bird food to birds. The success of a bird feeder in attracting birds depends upon its placement and the kinds of seeds offered, as different species have different preferences....
s. Maybe global warming
Global warming

Global warming is the increase in the Instrumental temperature record of the Earth's near-surface air and the oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation....
 is a factor too; the birds are nowadays resident all year even in rural Ohio
Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
 where there are few bird feeders, while it was noted around 1905 that many birds from these areas migrated south 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. Tufted titmice tend to be curious about their human neighbors and can sometimes be spotted on window ledges peering into the windows to watch what's going on inside. 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 Titmice nest
Bird nest

A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and Avian incubation its egg and raises its young. While the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself?such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the Montezuma Oropendola, the Village Weaver or the...
 in a hole in a tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
, either a natural cavity or sometimes an old woodpecker
Woodpecker

Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks....
 nest. They line the nest with soft materials, sometimes plucking hair
Hair

Hair is a protein filament that epidermal growth from hair follicle deep within the dermis. The fine, soft hair found on many nonhuman mammals is typically called fur; wool is the characteristically curly hair found on sheep and goats....
 from a live animal such as a dog
Dog

The dog is a domesticated subspecies of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties....
. If they find shed snake skin, they will try to incorporate pieces of it in their nest. 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
Territory (animal)

In ethology, sociobiology and behavioral ecology, the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics ....
 year-round. These birds are permanent residents and often join small mixed flocks in winter.

See also

  • Kin selection
    Kin selection

    Some organisms tend to exhibit strategies that favor the reproductive success of their relatives, even at a cost to their own survival and/or reproduction....


Footnotes


External links

  • on the Internet Bird Collection
  • - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  • - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
  • - South Dakota Birds and Birding