TUFTED
TITMOUSE
#TMS-400
Notecards
Also available in Notecard Assortment Packs #AST-405
& #AST-505
#LE-TMS-400
Limited Edition Print
Small
bird, big voice: That’s an apt description for the tufted
titmouse. Usually 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 inches long, this mouse-colored
bird with a tufted crest frequently cuts loose with a resounding
“peter, peter, peter.” Additionally, it uses a “dee-dee-dee”
call similar to that of the chickadee, a scolding “ya-ya-ya,”
a variety of whispers, a warble, and, if its eggs are threatened,
a hiss.
The
nesting habits of the tufted titmouse also make it a conspicuous
bird. To cushion the nest for its five or six eggs, this titmouse
has the unusual habit of plucking hair from living mammals, including
dogs, horses, woodchucks, squirrels, even humans. Sometimes, it
hammers a damp leaf into a ball to serve as building material.
Usually, the titmouse builds its nest in a natural cavity of a
stump, branch or pole with an entrance hole less than two inches
wide.
Given
a choice, the tufted titmouse dines on insects. But it settles
for a diet consisting largely of seeds and berries during the
winter. It’s also a regular visitor to winter bird feeders,
where it favors peanut kernels, sunflower seeds and the occasional
doughnut. If you lack a feeder, you can attract it by smearing
suet or peanut butter directly onto tree trunks and branches.
In the summer months, you sometimes can lure a tufted titmouse
out of the forest with a bird bath.
The
tufted titmouse is easy to find in groups of two to six throughout
wooded areas of the eastern United States. When not breeding,
it often travels in small flocks mixed with other species.
Text © 1999 Terry White, Drawing ©
1999 Bill Harrah
.
. . BACKYARD BIRDS . . . (Click on an image to
see the actual notecard size)