Juniper titmouse
Juniper titmouse | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Paridae |
Genus: | Baeolophus |
Species: | B. ridgwayi
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Binomial name | |
Baeolophus ridgwayi (Richmond, 1902)
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Range of Baeolophus ridgwayi | |
Synonyms | |
Baeolophus griseus |
The juniper titmouse (Baeolophus ridgwayi) is a
The juniper titmouse is a small, gray bird with small tuft or crest. Male and female are visually similar.
This titmouse lives year-round primarily in the
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
The juniper titmouse eats insects and spiders, sometimes seen catching insects in mid air. It also eats 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 titmice visit feeders with suet, peanut butter, and 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
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.
References
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- JSTOR 4089270.
Further reading
- Alsop, Fred J., III (2001): Smithsonian Birds of North America, Western Region. DK Publishing, Inc., New York City. ISBN 0-7894-7157-4
- ISBN 0-679-45122-6
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