Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) Gail A. McPeek Kensington, MI 11/29/2008 © Joan Tisdale With a healthy appetite for sunflower seeds, (Click to view a comparison of Atlas I to II) the Tufted Titmouse is a common feeder bird. In fact, many attribute our enthusiasm for Forty years later, Wood (1951) categorized the feeding birds as partly responsible for this Tufted Titmouse as a resident in the species’ noteworthy northward expansion. southernmost two to three tiers of counties, and Titmice can reside year-round in colder climates indicated it was “increasing in numbers and thanks to this convenient chain of fast-food spreading northward.” He noted winter records restaurants. Climate change and reforestation of as far north as Ogemaw and Charlevoix many areas have also played a role in its counties. Zimmerman and Van Tyne (1959) expansion (Grubb and Pravosudov 1994). The reported confirmed breeding records in Tufted Titmouse is found across eastern North Newaygo (1937) and Lapeer (1945) counties, America, west to the Plains and north to plus a family group seen 8 August 1945 in northern New England, southern Ontario, Benzie County. Michigan’s NLP, and central Wisconsin. The southern portion of its range extends across Breeding bird atlases have been timely in Texas and into eastern Mexico. In Texas, the documenting the continuing saga of the Tufted gray-crested form of the East meets with the Titmouse. By the end of MBBA I in 1988, it locally-distributed Black-crested Titmouse. inhabited most (83%) of SLP townships and one-quarter of NLP townships (Eastman 1991). Distribution These records provided a clear picture of this The slow and steady northward expansion of the species’ population increase and major Tufted Titmouse in Michigan is well northward expansion since the 1940s. Twenty documented. Gibbs (1879) listed it as an years later, in MBBA II, titmice were recorded “accidental visitor.” Barrows (1912) described in 88% of SLP townships. There was even an this bird as “confined to the southern part of the increase in the eastern thumb, though they were Lower Peninsula,” and that it appears to be still largely absent from eastern Huron County. “nowhere common.” He noted records dating More remarkable is the greater presence of back to 1870 for Eaton and Barry counties, and titmice in the NLP, with breeding evidence in a nest in Ann Arbor on 24 May 1908. Along 54% of townships, more than twice that of with its irregular distribution, Barrows MBBA I. commented that most reports occurred during winter when it was observed in flocks with In the UP, Atlas data suggest that this species chickadees, nuthatches, and kinglets. may be reaching its northern limit, at least for © 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) Gail A. McPeek now. There were no detections in MBBA I, and appearance. Mate-feeding is another time only six reports (and no confirmations) in because the male feeds the female during pair- MBBA II. So while the expansion was very bonding and incubation. dramatic across the NLP, there has been little or no expansion into the UP. The Tufted May is the primary nesting month in Michigan, Titmouse’s sedentary nature makes for slow but eggs have been reported in late April. dispersal, and the Great Lakes may deter Clutches average five to six eggs, incubation movement into the UP. There were numerous takes two weeks, and young remain in the nest new reports in the northernmost LP counties but for 15-16 days. Once out of the cavity, only a few possible records opposite these fledglings are a noisy, feisty bunch, following borders in the UP. Other UP observations were parents and begging for food. This is a great near the Wisconsin border, where dispersing time for observation and breeding confirmation. birds do not need to cross the Great Lakes. Juveniles match the plumage of adults with one exception, they lack the black patch just above The Tufted Titmouse resides in deciduous or the beak. mixed forests, particularly those with tall trees and with oak and beech, with mast being an Abundance and Population Trends important winter food (Grubb and Pravosudov (Click to view trends from the BBS) 1994). This species has also adapted well to Although now widely distributed across parklands, orchards, and suburban areas with Michigan’s LP, the Tufted Titmouse is most large trees. The UP forests are more coniferous, abundant in the southwest quarter. BBS data which, with their colder climate, probably make consistently show larger numbers in this region. them less hospitable. CBC data provide further Highest BBS averages (>12 birds/route) for the evidence that titmice have not taken hold in the 1966-2007 period are from Allegan, Barry, UP. In 2006-07, there were 2,564 titmice Eaton, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, and recorded in the SLP, 581 in the NLP, but none Berrien counties (Sauer et al. 2008). in the UP (Palmgren 2007). Since the initiation of the BBS, Michigan has Breeding Biology seen a steady and significant increase in the After spending the winter in small flocks, titmouse population, at a rate of 3.4% per year usually family units, signs of the approaching (Sauer et al. 2008). Routes with reports breeding season are evident in March and early increased from 19 during the 1966-79 period to April. These signs include the break-up of the 45 in 1980-2007. Second atlases for Ontario flock, mate-feeding to strengthen the pair bond, (Read 2007) and New York (McGowan 2008) and, of course, the frequent “Peter, Peter, had findings similar to Michigan. Both reported Peter” song proclaiming its territory. Studying major changes in distribution, as titmice titmice in Michigan, Pielou (1957) found that occupied more blocks and filled in the gaps. young birds formed pairs and dispersed from Winter records from the CBC provide additional winter flocks between 21 March and 12 April. population data for sedentary, year-round birds like the Tufted Titmouse. In the 1960s, count The Tufted Titmouse is a cavity nester, using totals ranged between 382 and 772, and in the natural tree holes, old woodpecker holes, or nest 1970s, between 844 and 1,540. Numbers boxes. Females do the interior work, adding continued to climb in the 1980s, and by the end moss, bark, hair, leaves, and other material to of that decade, annual counts were consistently the nest. Witnessing this behavior allows you to over 2,000. The 1990s saw more increases and distinguish the sexes, which are identical in all counts between 1994 and 1999, exceeded © 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) Gail A. McPeek 3,000 titmice with a high of 3,824 in 1995. National Audubon Society (NAS). 2009. Records from the year 2000 to present suggest Christmas Bird Count, Historical Results. numbers maybe leveling off, with annual counts Available online: ranging from 3,831 in 2001 to 2,633 titmice in http://birds.audubon.org/historical-results. 2004 (National Audubon Society 2009). Titmice Accessed 6 April 2009. became scarce in Wayne County between 2003 Palmgren, G.R. 2007. Summary of the 2006- and 2008, possibly due to the presence of West 2007 Michigan CBC. Michigan Birds and Nile Virus (A. Chartier, pers. comm.). Natural History. 14(3): 110-137. Pielou, W.P. 1957. A life-history study of the Conservation Needs Tufted Titmouse, Parus bicolor Linnaeus. This spunky gray songbird has become a Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State common Michigan resident over the past 100 University, East Lansing, MI. years and is not a conservation concern. Read, P. 2007. Tufted Titmouse. In Cadman, Breeding can be limited by nest-site availability, M.D., D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. so it is important to leave trees with cavities. Lepage, and A.R. Couturier (eds.). 2007. The next few decades will be an interesting Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, period in the continuing saga. Has the Tufted 2001-2005. Bird Studies Canada, Titmouse reached its northern limit in Michigan, Environment Canada, Ontario Field or will climate change and other factors lead to Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural establishment in the UP? MBBA III, along with Resources, and Ontario Nature. Toronto, BBS, CBC, and other data sources will help us Ontario. answer this question. Sauer, J.R., J.E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2008. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Literature Citations Results and Analysis 1966-2007. Version Barrows, W.B. 1912. Michigan Bird Life. 5.15. 28 USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Special Bulletin. Michigan Agricultural Center, Laurel, MD. College. Lansing, MI. Wood, N.A. 1951. The Birds of Michigan. MP Eastman, J. 1991. Tufted Titmouse. In Brewer, 75. University of Michigan Museum of R., G.A. McPeek, and R.J. Adams Jr. (eds.). Zoology. Ann Arbor, MI. 1991. The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Zimmerman, D.A., and J. Van Tyne. 1959. A Michigan. Michigan State University Press. Distributional Checklist of the Birds of East Lansing, MI. Michigan. OP 608. University of Michigan Gibbs, M. 1879. Annotated list of the birds of Museum of Zoology. Ann Arbor, MI. Michigan. Bulletin of the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories 5: 481-497. Grubb Jr., T.C., and V.V. Pravosudov 1994. Tufted Titmouse (Parus bicolor). In The Birds of North America, No. 86. (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. McGowan, K.J. 2008. Tufted Titmouse. In McGowan, K.J. and K. Corwin (eds.). 2008. The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State. Cornell University Press. Ithaca, NY. © 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center .