Bird of the Week #10

This week's Bird of the Week is Tufted Titmouse!

Tufted Titmice are about 6.5 inches long. They are close relatives of chickadees and have a bluish-gray back, wings and crest, a white underside, orange sides, and a black forehead. They live in forests and eat mainly insects in the spring and summer and mainly berries, nuts and seeds in the fall and winter. They also are attracted to birdfeeders and sometimes can be hand-fed.

Tufted Titmice can be found throughout most of the eastern half of the United States year round. In New York City, they can be found year round but are much more common in the winter. They can be found in nearly every green space in the city in winter, especially in Central Park. The titmice there were much more common than usual 2 years ago, then were basically nonexistent then next winter. No one knows why it happened, but they are about as common as they normally are