Paridae · reviewed profile
Tufted Titmouse
Baeolophus bicolor
The tufted titmouse is the small gray crested bird of eastern woodlands and feeders, a regular winter visitor to sunflower feeders that hoards what it takes 1.
This profile draws on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds accounts 12 and on eBird records from the nine states covered on this site 3.
Tufted titmouse identification and behavior
Titmice flit from branch to branch of the canopy looking for food, often with nuthatches, chickadees, kinglets and woodpeckers; when they find a large seed such as a sunflower seed from a feeder, they hold it with their feet and hammer it open 2. They are acrobatic foragers that hang upside down or sideways to check cones, undersides of branches and leaf clusters, and sometimes drop to the ground 2.
Unlike chickadees, titmouse pairs do not gather into larger flocks outside the breeding season; most stay on their territory as a pair, often with one of that year's young, and occasionally a young bird stays into the next breeding season to help raise the brood 1.
Where tufted titmice live
Tufted titmice live in deciduous or mixed evergreen-deciduous woods with a dense canopy and many tree species, and are common in orchards, parks and suburbs; they are rarely reported above 2,000 feet 2. The range has been expanding northward over the last half-century, possibly because of a warming climate, farmland reverting to forest and the popularity of backyard feeders 2.
What tufted titmice eat
In summer titmice eat mainly insects — caterpillars, beetles, ants and wasps, stink bugs and treehoppers — plus spiders and snails; they also eat seeds, nuts and berries including acorns and beech nuts, and experiments show they always choose the largest seeds they can 2.
Titmice are regulars at feeders, especially in winter, preferring sunflower seeds but also taking suet, peanuts and other seeds 1. They hoard: in fall and winter they store shelled seeds in bark crevices, usually within 130 feet of the feeder, taking one seed per trip 12.
Tufted titmouse nesting
Titmice nest in cavities but cannot excavate their own, so they use natural holes and old nest holes of woodpeckers including Pileated Woodpecker and Northern Flicker, as well as nest boxes, fence posts and metal pipes 2. Clutches are 3–9 white eggs spotted with chestnut, brown or lilac, incubated 12–14 days; the young leave after 15–16 days, one brood a year 2.
Putting up a nest box well before the breeding season, with a predator guard, is a good way to attract a breeding pair; the species' dependence on dead wood is a reason to leave dead trees standing where it is safe 1.
Conservation status
Tufted titmice are common and populations increased between 1966 and 2019 according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey; Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 12 million and rates the species 7 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score 2.
Tufted Titmouse by state: eBird records
Across the nine states with eBird occurrence data on this site (records from 2020–2024), the Tufted Titmouse is reported most often in Florida, where it ranks #21 among all species with 438,279 records. It is rare or absent in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon.
Attracting them to your yard
Serve · best foods
- sunflower seeds
- peanuts
- suet
Plant · useful plants
- native oak
- serviceberry
- American beech
Place · best feeders
- hopper feeder
- tube feeder
- suet feeder
Frequently asked questions
What do tufted titmice eat?
Insects, spiders and snails in summer; seeds, nuts, acorns and berries otherwise. At feeders they prefer sunflower seeds, and also take suet and peanuts 12.
Where do tufted titmice nest?
In natural cavities, old woodpecker holes and nest boxes — they cannot dig their own cavity 2.
Do tufted titmice migrate?
No; pairs stay on their territory year-round, and the range has been spreading north 12.
How do I attract tufted titmice?
Sunflower seed in winter, a nest box with a predator guard put up before spring, and standing dead wood 1.