Tufted Titmouse-

Baeolophus bicolor

The Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is a bird native to the eastern United States. The Tufted Titmouse has recently begun to expand its range Northward, and it's breeding nicely. He has a "Least concern" conservation status. He is in the same family with Chickadees and other species of Titmice.

He has a distinctive grey tuft or crest on the top of his head. Under his wings there is a little bit of brown. He's grey on top and has a white underside. Why am I calling it a he? I don't know, I guess it just looks like a he to me. His eyes are a pure black, with a more faded black ring around the eye, giving the appearance that the eye is bigger than it is. 

Much like a Carolina Chickadee, the Tufted Titmouse nest in a cavity in a tree's trunk. Sometimes, many birds will stuff themselves inside one nest and some birds might even suffocate because so many birds are in this cavity that they can't get out. It's quite sad, to me. He prefers to live in mature trees, not saplings. Deciduous  forests are ideal for this bird's habitat, but he will live in suburban areas if there are older trees available. 

He is a very active bird; when foraging for food, he will jump from branch to branch, hang upside-down, and even hover in midair when collecting bugs, berries, etc. He eats almost anything small enough for him to eat, such as berries, insects, snails, seeds, spiders, nuts, and seeds. His flight is fluttery, but not up-and-down-y; he tends to remain level.

His song is a high-pitched peter-peter-peter. He does not migrate, remaining a permanent resident wherever he may live, but he does flock with chickadees and nuthatches. 

There used to a be different bird, called the black-crested titmouse, but it turns out, the Black-crested and the tufted titmouse are the same, it's just that the black-crested has, as the name implies, a black crest instead of a blue-grey one. 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tufted_Titmouse

http://www.wbu.com/chipperwoods/photos/ttitmouse.htm

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/tufted-titmouse-baeolophus-bicolor

http://sdakotabirds.com/species/tufted_titmouse_info.htm

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/id/nc

Carolina chickadee--

Poecile carolinensis (Try saying that ten times fast! ;-P)

Though similar in appearance to the Black-capped chickadee, they are not the same. They both have little black "caps" on the tops of their heads, little black beards, grey wings, and white bellies. But there are a few differences you can point out to identify them from each other. One is that the beards on the Carolina chickadee have sharper edges, so the edge of the beard is more defined against the pure white cheeks. The Black-capped chickadee has more brown on its belly. Carolina chickadees also have a white tint at the edges of the wings. Also, If you're in a place where carolina chickadees don't live, it's a black-capped chickadee, and vice-versa. But sometimes, in the places where their ranges overlap, the two species can mate with the other and produce hybrids that may sing the song of one, the other, or a mixture of both. Carolina chickadees live in a burrow as a nest, going into small holes in trees to build their homes. They lay 3-10 white eggs with brown speckles each mating season. Eggs are about 1 inch long. Sometimes, a relationship between a male and a female can last several years, as if the birds are soul mates. The average lifespan of a Carolina chickadee is 4-5 years, although the oldest one found in the wild was 10 years and 8 months old. It is a relatively small bird, with a rounded head and fat-ish body, giving the appearance to be spherical in shape.

Sources:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Carolina_chickadee/id/ac

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/carolina_chickadee/lifehistory/ac

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Chickadee

http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/details.cfm?displayhabitat=forest&sort=aounumber&typename=FOREST&uid=09041709225531560&commonname=Carolina%20Chickadee

P.S. I'm going to get a picture of my own of a Carolina Chickadee but this one will have to do for now.

Introduction to my BIRD SEGMENT! YAY!

So, since it's starting to get warm again, I want to work on birds! I get a ton of birds flying around in my backyard, such as hummingbirds, the tufted titmouse, and carolina chickadee, so I thought I could snap a few pictures and put up some posts! I spent summer and fall last year doing plants, winter doing spiders, and, officially, I am going to do birds now.

I also wanted to let you know, if you haven't noticed, that I am tagging my posts. I have a lot, so if you want you can scroll through them. I have tags for poisonous spiders, trees, bugs, etc. If you want me to add a tag that you think would be helpful, leave it in the comments. :-)

Remember to take nature walks and see what plants and bugs you can identify on the way! It's fun, and a great family activity.

And spread the word about my blog to friends and family. I don't want to get famous or anything, I just want to know that I do have a few people who read my blog.

I know that this is a long intro, but I wanted to apologize for not getting a post up last week. The ENTIRE family was sick, and it was not fun. Promise. And since google docs is down, I can't work on that essay that I should be, so I'm going to do my research for the next post if going to be doing. Psst! It's the carolina chickadee! Don't tell anyone!

xx Rapid Turtle xx <3