Artwork by Susan Bull Riley
Tufted Titmouse Small Journal
$20.00
The following description appears on the inside cover of your small journal.
DESCRIPTION
Tufted Titmouse (Parus bicolor)
Active, social and vivacious, the Tufted Titmouse is the largest bird in the titmouse family, averaging 6–6½ inches long. They have grey-colored bodies above white undersides, rusty brown flanks, a pointed crest and dark conspicuous eyes. Both sexes are similar in appearance.
The Tufted Titmouse ranges over the eastern portion of the U.S., dwelling in deciduous forests. In summer, they seek out swamps and river bottom feeding on insects and fruits, then move to higher ground in winter looking for nuts and seeds. The titmouse has also adapted to residential woods and city parks. They are fearless little birds and can be quite tame around people, even feeding out of your hand!
Titmice travel in small flocks during the winter then separate into pairs in early spring. Mating for life, the nesting pairs find natural cavities in trees, abandoned woodpecker holes or bird boxes anywhere from 3–90 feet up. Nests are cup-shaped and consist of moss, bark strips, leaves and hair. Five to six creamy white eggs speckled with brown are incubated by the female. Hatching in 13–14 days, the young are fed by both parents. Generally the pair will hatch two broods per season with the young of the first brood helping to care for the second brood.
The Tufted Titmouse is certainly a welcome visitor to any backyard bird feeder with their social and perky dispositions.
artwork by Susan Bull Riley,
text by Anne Trawick
