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Birdaday Field Notes

Species profile · look-alike pair

Tufted Titmouse, the Black-crested Titmouse, and a range on the move

The Tufted Titmouse is the small gray bird with a pointed crest, big black eyes and a loud whistled peter-peter-peter. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology calls it common in eastern deciduous forests and a frequent feeder visitor. In central Texas it meets a close relative, the Black-crested Titmouse, and the two interbreed, so this page compares them. It also covers how the Tufted has spread north over the past century. A shorter list of starter species is on common backyard birds.

Tufted Titmouse perched on a bare branch: gray crest and back, black patch above the bill, large dark eye, pale underparts and a rusty-peach wash on the flank
Tufted Titmouse, Central Park, New York. Note the gray crest, the black forehead and the peach flank.
Photo: Rhododendrites / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Black-crested Titmouse perched on a weathered branch: tall black crest, pale forehead, gray back and pale underparts with a buff wash on the side
Black-crested Titmouse, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, lower Rio Grande valley, Texas, as identified on the Commons file page. Note the black crest and pale forehead.
Photo: Dan Pancamo / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts

Fact Tufted Black-crested
Scientific name Baeolophus bicolor Baeolophus atricristatus
Length 5.5–6.3 in (Cornell); 6 in (Audubon) 5.9 in (Cornell); 5–6 in (Audubon)
Weight 0.6–0.9 oz 0.5–0.7 oz (Cornell); 0.6–0.9 oz (Audubon)
Wingspan 7.9–10.2 in 9.1–9.8 in (Cornell); 7–8 in (Audubon)
Where Eastern woodlands, mostly below 2,000 ft Central and southern Texas into Mexico, barely reaching southwestern Oklahoma (Audubon); sea level to nearly 8,000 ft (Cornell)
Breeding population 12 million (Partners in Flight, via Cornell) 1.2 million (same source)
Trend Increased 1966–2019 (Breeding Bird Survey, via Cornell) Stable or slightly declining since 1966 (Breeding Bird Survey); down at least 15% since 1970 (Partners in Flight); Audubon calls numbers "apparently stable"
Concern score 7 of 20, low concern 12 of 20, relatively low concern
Oldest known At least 13 years 3 months, banded in Virginia in 1962 At least 7 years 11 months, Texas

Where sources differ, both figures are shown; unmarked figures are Cornell's.

Tufted vs Black-crested: crest, forehead, voice

Cornell notes that the Black-crested has at times been treated as a form of the Tufted, and Audubon says it was once a subspecies. The two diverged about 250,000 years ago and still differ in calls and genes (Cornell). Where they meet in east-central Texas they interbreed (Audubon). Cornell describes the hybrid zone as narrow and stable over time, and calls hybrids fairly common.

Tufted Titmouse, Black-crested Titmouse and hybrid head patterns comparedThree simplified generic titmice facing left. Left, the Tufted Titmouse with a gray crest, a black patch above the bill and a peach wash on the flank. Middle, the Black-crested Titmouse with a black crest, a white forehead and a paler buff flank. Right, a hybrid with a dark gray crest and a brownish forehead. Each bird has three numbered marks: crest, forehead and flank. TuftedBlack-crestedHybrid 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
  1. Crest: gray on the Tufted; black on the Black-crested. Hybrids show a gray, not black, crest (Cornell); Audubon says it may be dark gray.
  2. Forehead: the Tufted has a black patch just above the bill that makes it look "snub-nosed" (Cornell). The Black-crested's forehead is white (Audubon), though Cornell says it is sometimes tinged buff. Hybrids are brownish or grayish (Cornell) or reddish brown (Audubon). Cornell also says the Black-crested subspecies of southern Oklahoma and central Texas has a rusty tint to the forehead, so check the crest too.
  3. Flanks: a rusty or peach wash on the Tufted, less visible on worn birds (Cornell). The Black-crested has grayish flanks, sometimes tinged buff (Cornell), or an orange tinge (Audubon).
Drawn for Birdaday Field Notes as three generic titmouse shapes, not copied from any field-guide plate or photo. Marks follow the Cornell Lab's All About Birds pages and the Audubon field guide, cited below. Colors approximate; individual birds vary. Not to scale.
Feature Tufted Black-crested Source
Song Clear whistled peter-peter-peter, up to 11 times in a row or up to 35 songs a minute Typically higher and faster; often a one-syllable peer rather than the two-syllable peter Cornell
Song length, per Audubon 4 to 8 notes, repeated over and over Similar; the one-note song is more common Audubon
Calls Scratchy, chickadee-like tsee-day-day-day, scolding notes, a harsh alarm call More nasal than the Tufted's Cornell
Habitat Deciduous or mixed woods with a dense canopy; orchards, parks, suburbs Almost any woodland in its range, most at home in oak woodlands; brush, river groves, suburbs Cornell, Audubon
Foraging height Outer branches of the canopy; hangs upside down or sideways Usually inner parts of trees, often 20 ft or lower Cornell

Other look-alikes on Cornell's list for the Tufted are the Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees; see the chickadee comparison. Cornell also lists the Bridled Titmouse, farther west, as a look-alike for the Black-crested.

Voice and behavior

Caching and food

Insects make up close to two-thirds of the Tufted's yearly diet, with caterpillars the main summer prey (Audubon). Cornell adds beetles, ants, wasps, stink bugs, treehoppers, spiders and snails, plus acorns, beech nuts and berries, and says experiments show titmice always choose the largest seeds they can. In fall and winter they hoard food. Titmice take one seed per trip, usually shell it, and hide it in a bark crevice, usually within 130 feet of the feeder (Cornell). A titmouse shuttling to and from the feeder may be storing food, not eating it all.

Food Tufted Black-crested
Black-oil and hulled sunflower Yes Yes
Peanuts and peanut hearts Yes Yes
Suet Yes Yes
Mealworms Yes Yes
Safflower Yes Yes
Nyjer Yes Not listed
Feeder types Large and small hoppers, large and small tubes, platform, suet cage Same

Table: Project FeederWatch's Common Feeder Birds list. Cornell says the Tufted prefers sunflower seeds and that Black-crested Titmice also take corn, berries and other fruit at feeding stations. See what to feed backyard birds, suet recipes and winter bird feeding.

Nesting and nest boxes

The Tufted can't dig its own nest hole. It uses natural cavities and old woodpecker holes, including those of Pileated Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers, plus nest boxes, fenceposts and metal pipes (Cornell). It lines a cup of damp leaves, moss, grass and bark strips with hair, sometimes plucked from live animals: raccoon, opossum, dog, woodchuck and even human hair have been found in old nests. Building takes 6 to 11 days. The Black-crested uses small old woodpecker cavities in trees, poles, fence posts or stumps, and nest boxes (Cornell).

Stage Tufted (Cornell) Tufted (Audubon) Black-crested (Cornell) Black-crested (Audubon)
Nest height — About 35 ft on average, 3–90 ft Seldom over 20 ft Usually 3–20 ft
Clutch 3–9 eggs 5–6, sometimes 3–9 4–7 5–6, sometimes 4–7
Incubation 12–14 days 12–14 days, female only 12–14 days 12–14 days, probably female only
Nestling period 15–16 days About 15–16 days — About 15–16 days
Broods 1 — 1–2 —

Nest box (NestWatch):

Measurement Tufted Black-crested
Entrance hole 1¼ in 1¼ in
Floor 5½ × 5½ in 5½ × 5½ in
Interior depth 8 in 8 in
Height above ground 5–15 ft 3–20 ft
Spacing between boxes 580 ft 600 ft
Facing Away from prevailing wind Away from prevailing wind
Mount on Pole Pole or live tree

NestWatch suggests placing a Tufted box among large deciduous trees, in forests, parks or neighborhoods with mature trees. Cornell adds a predator guard and putting the box up well before breeding season. Cornell gives natural Black-crested nest entrances as 1.7 to 2.2 inches, wider than the 1¼-inch box hole. If House Sparrows move in, see keeping House Sparrows out of birdhouses. More tables: birdhouse dimensions and the bird nesting timeline.

The northward spread

Cornell says the Tufted's range has been expanding north over the last half-century, and gives three possible reasons: a warming climate, farmland reverting to forest, and the popularity of backyard feeders. Audubon says the species is "steadily pushing north" and that feeders may be helping. Adults are permanent residents, but young birds may disperse some distance in any direction, including north (Audubon).

When What happened Source
Spring 1879 First Minnesota record, a bird taken in Minneapolis Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas
1943 First documented Minnesota nesting, at Marine on St. Croix Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas
1940s–mid-1970s Spread north in Minnesota to Hennepin County, then retreated south Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas, citing Janssen (1987)
1967 NH Audubon starts a Cardinal–Tufted Titmouse Survey to track both species moving into New Hampshire, where the titmouse once was absent NH Audubon
2009–2013 Minnesota atlas finds titmice in 29 blocks and confirms breeding in 3 Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas
Recent decades New Hampshire winter counts still rising about 1% a year, more slowly than before; still uncommon in northern Coos County NH Audubon

Over nearly 100 years, the northern edge of the range moved about 500 miles in New England and 300 miles in the Great Lakes region, according to the Minnesota atlas, which cites a 2016 BirdSource analysis. The atlas says harsh Upper Midwest winters push the edge back until a run of milder winters lets birds move north again, and that Christmas Bird Count data since 1901 show the shift. NH Audubon also credits feeders and says cold winters have limited further spread. Watching that edge is one use for counts like Project FeederWatch and the Christmas Bird Count.

For your Bird-a-Day streak

Both titmice are year-round residents (Audubon), so inside their ranges they make good reserve birds for a slow day (see the challenge guide). The song often gives a titmouse away before you see it (Cornell). Near the northern edge, check eBird before counting on one, and plan it in with the species planner. In central Texas, watch for hybrids with in-between marks (Audubon).

Titmouse-friendly yard checklist

Sources