Juniper Titmouse
Encyclopedia
The Juniper Titmouse, Baeolophus ridgwayi, is a passerine
bird
in the tit
family Paridae. The American Ornithologists' Union
split the Plain Titmouse into the Oak Titmouse
and the Juniper Titmouse in 1996, due to distinct differences in song, preferred habitat, and genetic makeup.
The Juniper Titmouse is a small, gray bird with small tuft or crest. The face is plain, and the undersides are a lighter gray. Sexes are similar.
This titmouse lives year-round primarily in the Great Basin
, but is resident from southeastern Oregon
and central Colorado
south to the eastern Mojave Desert
in California
and central Arizona
, as far as west Texas
and extreme northeastern Sonora
, Mexico
-(the Madrean sky islands
). Prefers open woodlands of warm, dry pinyon-juniper, juniper
and desert riparian woods.
Juniper Titmice will sleep in cavities, dense foliage, or birdhouses. When roosting in foliage, the titmouse chooses a twig surrounded by dense foliage or an accumulation of dead pine needles, simulating a roost in a cavity. It forms pairs or small groups, but does not form large flocks. It may join mixed-species flocks
after breeding season for foraging.
The Juniper Titmouse eats insects and spiders, sometimes seen catching insects in midair
. It also takes berries, acorns, and some seeds, sometimes hammering seeds against branches to open them. The bird forages on foliage, twigs, branches, trunks, and occasionally on the ground. Strong legs and feet allows it to hang upside down to forage. Juniper Titmouse is attracted to feeders with suet, peanut butter and sunflower seeds.
The song of the Juniper Titmouse is a rolling series of notes given on the same pitch. Its call sounds like a raspy tschick-adee.
This species builds its nest in a woodpecker hole, natural cavity, or nest box, lining it with grass, moss, mud, hair, feathers, and fur. It breeds from March into July, with peak activity in April and May, laying 3-9 eggs, usually 4-7. The female is the primary incubator, the process of which takes 14–16 days. Young are altricial
, and are tended by both parents in nest for 16–21 days. Parents continue to tend to young for another three to four weeks after the young leave the nest.
The Oak Titmouse
and Juniper Titmouse appear almost identical, but differ in voice as well as range. The Oak Titmouse has a browner back than the Juniper Titmouse. The Oak Titmouse gives a repeated series of three to seven syllables, each composed of one low and one high note, while the Juniper Titmouse song consists of a series of rapid syllables on the same note. Ranges overlap only in a small area in California. The Tufted Titmouse
, which does not overlap in range, has whiter belly, rusty flanks, and black on the forehead.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the tit
Titmouse
The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur in the northern hemisphere and Africa...
family Paridae. The American Ornithologists' Union
American Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders...
split the Plain Titmouse into the Oak Titmouse
Oak Titmouse
The Oak Titmouse, Baeolophus inornatus, is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. The American Ornithologists' Union split the Plain Titmouse into the Oak Titmouse and the Juniper Titmouse in 1996, due to distinct differences in song, preferred habitat, and genetic makeup.The Oak Titmouse is a...
and the Juniper Titmouse in 1996, due to distinct differences in song, preferred habitat, and genetic makeup.
The Juniper Titmouse is a small, gray bird with small tuft or crest. The face is plain, and the undersides are a lighter gray. Sexes are similar.
This titmouse lives year-round primarily in the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
, but is resident from southeastern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and central Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
south to the eastern Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and central Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, as far as west Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and extreme northeastern Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
-(the Madrean sky islands
Madrean sky islands
The Madrean Sky Islands are enclaves of Madrean pine-oak woodlands, found at higher elevations in a complex of small mountain ranges in southern and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. The sky islands are surrounded at lower elevations by the Sonoran and...
). Prefers open woodlands of warm, dry pinyon-juniper, juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
and desert riparian woods.
Juniper Titmice will sleep in cavities, dense foliage, or birdhouses. When roosting in foliage, the titmouse chooses a twig surrounded by dense foliage or an accumulation of dead pine needles, simulating a roost in a cavity. It forms pairs or small groups, but does not form large flocks. It may join mixed-species flocks
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
after breeding season for foraging.
The Juniper Titmouse eats insects and spiders, sometimes seen catching insects in midair
Hawking (birds)
Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch...
. It also takes berries, acorns, and some seeds, sometimes hammering seeds against branches to open them. The bird forages on foliage, twigs, branches, trunks, and occasionally on the ground. Strong legs and feet allows it to hang upside down to forage. Juniper Titmouse is attracted to feeders with suet, peanut butter and sunflower seeds.
The song of the Juniper Titmouse is a rolling series of notes given on the same pitch. Its call sounds like a raspy tschick-adee.
This species builds its nest in a woodpecker hole, natural cavity, or nest box, lining it with grass, moss, mud, hair, feathers, and fur. It breeds from March into July, with peak activity in April and May, laying 3-9 eggs, usually 4-7. The female is the primary incubator, the process of which takes 14–16 days. Young are altricial
Altricial
Altricial, meaning "requiring nourishment", refers to a pattern of growth and development in organisms which are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born...
, and are tended by both parents in nest for 16–21 days. Parents continue to tend to young for another three to four weeks after the young leave the nest.
The Oak Titmouse
Oak Titmouse
The Oak Titmouse, Baeolophus inornatus, is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. The American Ornithologists' Union split the Plain Titmouse into the Oak Titmouse and the Juniper Titmouse in 1996, due to distinct differences in song, preferred habitat, and genetic makeup.The Oak Titmouse is a...
and Juniper Titmouse appear almost identical, but differ in voice as well as range. The Oak Titmouse has a browner back than the Juniper Titmouse. The Oak Titmouse gives a repeated series of three to seven syllables, each composed of one low and one high note, while the Juniper Titmouse song consists of a series of rapid syllables on the same note. Ranges overlap only in a small area in California. The Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse
The Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor, is a small songbird from North America, a species in the tit and chickadee family . The Black-crested Titmouse, found from central and southern Texas southwards, was included as a subspecies but is now considered a separate species B...
, which does not overlap in range, has whiter belly, rusty flanks, and black on the forehead.
External links
- All About Birds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Bird Guide
Juniper Titmouse - Audubon.org Oak Titmouse, includes data on Juniper Titmouse
- Juniper Titmouse photo gallery VIREO