Introduction

Editor's Note: The Black crested Titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus), considered part of the Tufted Titmouse (B. bicolor) group when this account was written, has now been designated a separate species by the AOU Check-list committee. Future revisions of this account will reflect this change.

The Tufted Titmouse is a common song-bird of the deciduous forests of eastern North America. During the past 50 years, the range of this species has expanded northward, probably because of climatic warming and increased bird feeding. Although this familiar species often breeds in nestboxes, its population ecology and breeding biology remain poorly known, especially in contrast to its European counterpart, the Great Tit (Parus major).

Frequent visitors to bird feeders during fall and winter, individuals of this species cache large amounts of food throughout their territories. In contrast to most species of titmice and chickadees, young Tufted Titmice often remain with their parents during the winter and then disperse later in their second year. Some yearling titmice even stay on their natal territory and help their parents to raise younger siblings.

The Tufted Titmouse (Parus bicolor) now includes the Black-crested Titmouse (P. b. atricristatus), which was considered, prior to 1983, a separate species with four weakly defined subspecies. The distinct gray-crested and black-crested forms freely interbreed in a stable but narrow transition zone in Texas. The merging of these two species into one poses difficulties in the use of traditional names. In this account, we use “Tufted Titmouse” to refer to the eastern bicolor group, and “Black-crested Titmouse” to refer to the western atricristatus group.