Tufted Titmouse

Baeolophus bicolor

Mohawk crest, suspicious eyes, an attitude problem at every feeder. Yours now.

Population: ~12 million (global breeding population, Partners in Flight, as cited by Cornell/All About Birds)
Habitat: Deciduous and mixed evergreen-deciduous woodlands with dense canopy cover and diverse tree species; also orchards, parks, wooded suburbs, and backyards, usually at low elevations (rarely above ~2,000 ft)
Fun fact: The oldest known wild Tufted Titmouse on record lived to at least 13 years, and the species is famous for food-hoarding, caching seeds and nuts one at a time in bark crevices within about 130 feet of a feeder.
Range: Eastern United States, from the Great Plains to the Atlantic coast, north into southern Ontario/Quebec, Canada, and south to the Gulf Coast and northern Florida; range has been expanding northward in recent decades
Diet: Omnivorous: primarily insects (caterpillars, beetles, ants, wasps) and spiders in the breeding season; seeds, nuts (especially acorns and beechnuts), berries, and backyard feeder foods (sunflower seeds, suet, peanuts) in fall/winter, which it caches nearby (within ~130 feet of a feeder)
Size: 0.15 m
Wingspan: 0.23 m
Lifespan: 13 years

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