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Bushtit

Psaltriparus minimusOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Bushtit (Aegithalidae)

Bushtit Portrait
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General

Bushtit: Tiny, acrobatic bird with gray-brown upperparts and paler underparts. Eyes are dark brown, bill is tiny, and tail is long. Pacific coast race has brown crown. Rocky Mountain race has gray cap and brown ear patch. South New Mexico/Texas race has black mask and ear patch. Female has less distinct markings and pale yellow eyes.

Range and Habitat

Bushtit: Resident from extreme southwestern British Columbia, southern Idaho, southwestern Wyoming, and the Oklahoma panhandle southward. The preferred habitats include coastal forests among second-growth alder thickets and edges of coniferous forests composed of maple, dogwood, and birch.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"tsip", "pit"

Interesting Facts

  • Bushtits travels in flocks of up to 60 birds until breeding season when they break off into pairs.
  • The nest is an impressive, woven, hanging basket with a hole high up on the side of the nest and a passageway to the nest chamber at the bottom. It can be up to a foot long, and is generally built of spider webs, moss, lichen, and other plant material.
  • Both the male and female will incubate the eggs, sometimes even at the same time.
  • This bird often has helpers at the nest, birds other than the parental pair that feed nestlings. All family members sleep together in the complex nest during breeding, but they leave it after the young fledge, and sleep on branches.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Bushit
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Psaltriparus minimus
Length4.5 Inches
Wingspan7 Inches

Bushtit

Bushtit: Tiny, acrobatic bird with gray-brown upperparts and paler underparts. Eyes are dark brown, bill is tiny, and tail is long. Pacific coast race has brown crown. Rocky Mountain race has gray cap and brown ear patch. South New Mexico/Texas race has black mask, ear patch. Weak fluttering flight.

● Song: "tsip", "pit"

● Foraging & Feeding: Bushtit: Feeds on insects and spiders; also small fruit seeds.

● Breeding & nesting: Bushtit: Five to seven white eggs are laid in a hanging, gourd-shaped nest with a side entrance near the top; nest is made of soft plant wool and lichens, and suspended in a bush or tree. Both parents incubate eggs for approximately 12 days.

● Similar species: Bushtit: Juniper Titmouse and Oak Titmouse are larger and have head tufts and larger bills. Juvenile Verdin has shorter tail, gray-brown upperparts, and gray-brown wash on its sides.

Flight Pattern

Weak fluttering flights of short duration.
Bushtit Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Bushtit: Resident from extreme southwestern British Columbia, southern Idaho, southwestern Wyoming, and the Oklahoma panhandle southward. The preferred habitats include coastal forests among second-growth alder thickets and edges of coniferous forests composed of maple, dogwood, and birch.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
Population
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight0.2 Ounces