Friday, December 26, 2008

Sassy Tufted Titmouse





The Tufted Titmouse is so sassy.
When I go out and fill the bird feeders they will set on a branch
and chirp away at me.They almost sound as though they are
sassing at me to hurry up and move out of the way.





The males and females look alike.




Cool Facts


  • Beginning in the 1940s, the Tufted Titmouse began
    expanding its range northward. Previous to that it was
    found only as far north as Iowa, Ohio, southern Pennsylvania,
    and New Jersey.

    Explanations offered for the expansion include global
    warming, the maturation of abandoned farmlands to forest,
    and increased number of winter bird feeders.

  • 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. They differ slightly in the
    quality of their calls, and show genetic differences as well.

  • Unlike many chickadees, Tufted Titmouse pairs do not join
    larger flocks outside of the breeding season. Instead, most
    remain on the territory as a pair. Frequently one of their
    young from that year remains with them, and occasionally
    other juveniles from other places will join them.
    Rarely a young titmouse remains with its parents into the
    breeding season and will help them raise the next year's brood.



9 comments:

Gunilla said...

I think that the birds really likes you, because you feeds them.
I´s a kind thing to do. We have birds here during the winter that we give seeds , they eats alot when it´s cold to keep warm.


I wish you a Happy New Year.
Gunilla

Jan said...

Cool facts, Lona! I always have Tufted Titmice in my yard. They are cute little birds;) Hope you had a Merry Christmas! Jan

Gail said...

Aren't they one of the best birds at the feeder! Thank you for the great info!

Gail
clay and limestone

spookydragonfly said...

These are interesting facts...love your first photo,Lona! I hope your Christmas was merry!!

Susan Tomlinson said...

You are so lucky to have titmice at your feeder! I wish they would visit mine. We don't get chickadees, either--both would tickle me.

F Cameron said...

I love these birds!

Great photos and info.

Cameron

Lona said...

Gunilla; The birds may break my budget this year since the cost od seed went so high. Thanks for dropping by and Happy New Year.

Jan and Spookygragonfly; had a great Christmas. Hope your families did also. Happy New Year!

Gail; We are over-run with many different birds here in the winter, but these are the only ones that Sass me until I feed them.Thank you for dropping by.
Happy New Year.

Cameron; I love them to. They are such a perky bird. Thanks for dropping by and Happy New Year!

Susan; You probably have many birds that we do not get here in my area. Hope you had a good Christmas. Have an even better New Year to come.

Kylee Baumle said...

Thanks for the fascinating post on the tufted titmouse! I have yet to see one at our feeders that I can recognize. I'm sure they're out there, though!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for visiting my blog, Lona. I loved your post on the tufted titmouse. A few years ago, we had a titmouse stealing hair from our Golden Retriever.Fishy would be sleeping on the deck, and the titmouse would land on him and grab a big beakful of hair, it was hilarious! You can see some photos of the here: http://henbogle.wordpress.com/2007/04/25/an-intrepid-titmouse/