Bridled Titmice are small songbirds that have a unique and striking head pattern. They have gray tufts or crests bordered in black. They have small, black bills. They have a white face marked with black stripes on the eyes and cheeks. They also have a black bib and nape. Their backs and wings are gray, and the rest of their bodies are pale gray.Â
- Baeolophus wollweberi
- Length: 4 – 5.25 in (10- 13 cm)
- Weight: 0.4 oz (11 g)
- Wingspan: 7 – 8 in (18 – 20 cm)
Range
Bridled Titmice are only found in Mexico and southwestern US states and they do not migrate.
Habitat And Diet
You can find Bridled Titmice in mountains at middle elevations, particularly with oak or mixed with juniper and pine trees. During the winter, they may descend lower as long as there are still oak, juniper, and pine trees.
Bridled Titmice forage among the leaves in trees, jumping and flitting from one branch to the next, searching under twigs and barks for insects and larvae. They are social birds and may sometimes join mixed flocks when foraging for food.
Bridled Titmouse Call:
Nests
Nests of Bridled Titmice are often built by the female. She may use an abandoned woodpecker hole or clean out an old tree cavity or stump. She will then combine grasses, soft leaves, and caterpillar silk to create a cup-like nest in the cavity.
After building the nest, she will then lay anywhere between four to eight eggs. Incubation usually takes two weeks. While both parents tend to their young, a third helper adult often joins them to take care of the newly-hatched birds.
Attract Bridled Titmice to your backyard by putting up a nest box with a guard to protect the eggs and young.
Fun Fact:
The Bridled Titmouse is the smallest North American Titmouse.
