Oak Titmouse

Oak Titmouse
Oak Titmouse
In California, USA
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Genus: Baeolophus
Species: B. inornatus
Binomial name
Baeolophus inornatus
(Gambel, 1842)

The Oak Titmouse, Baeolophus inornatus, is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. The American Ornithologists' Union split the Plain Titmouse into the Oak Titmouse and the Juniper Titmouse in 1996, due to distinct differences in song, preferred habitat, and genetic makeup.[2]

The Oak Titmouse is a small, brown-tinged gray bird with small tuft or crest. The face is plain, and the undersides are a lighter gray. Sexes are similar, as there is very little to no sexual dimorphism.

This species lives year-round on the Pacific slope, resident from southern Oregon south through California west of the Sierra Nevada to Baja California, but its range surrounds the central San Joaquin Valley. It prefers open woodlands of warm, dry oak and oak-pine at low to mid-elevations but can also be found in forests as long as adequate oak trees are present.

The Oak Titmouse 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 mixed-species flocks after breeding season for foraging. Pairs stay together after the breeding season.

Oak Titmice eat insects and spiders, and are sometimes seen catching insects in midair. They will also take berries, acorns, and some seeds. This species forages on foliage, twigs, branches, trunks, and occasionally on ground, sometimes hanging upside down to forage, and hammering seeds against branches to open them. Oak Titmice are attracted to feeders with suet, peanut butter and sunflower seeds.

The song of the Oak Titmouse is a series of repeated whistled notes of three to seven syllables, with first syllable higher in pitch than the following one. The call is a scratchy tsicka-dee-dee.

The Oak Titmouse builds its nest in a woodpecker hole, a natural cavity, or a nest box, using 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 6-8. The female is the primary incubator, with incubation taking 14–16 days. Young are altricial, and are tended by both parents in nest for 16–21 days. Parents continue to tend to young for another three to four weeks after they leave the nest.

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 comprising 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

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2004). Baeolophus inornatus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
  2. ^ "Forty-first supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds". The Auk 114 (3): 542–552. July, 1997. http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v114n03/p0542-p0552.pdf. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • oak titmouse — paprastoji pelinė zylė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Baeolophus inornatus; Parus inornatus angl. oak titmouse vok. Schlichtmeise, f rus. пепельная синица, f pranc. mésange unicolore, f ryšiai: platesnis terminas –… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • Juniper Titmouse — Taxobox name = Juniper Titmouse image width = 200px status = LC | status system = IUCN3.1 status ref =IUCN2006|assessors=BirdLife International|year=2004|id=54238|title=Baeolophus ridgwayi|downloaded=09 May 2006 Database entry includes… …   Wikipedia

  • Bridled Titmouse — Taxobox name = Bridled Titmouse status = LC | status system = IUCN3.1 regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Passeriformes familia = Paridae genus = Baeolophus species = B. wollweberi binomial = Baeolophus wollweberi binomial… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Arizona-SW birds (Yuma County, Arizona) — This is a List of birds of South West Arizona, and needs moderate verification by local bird enthusiasts. The list is being made in conjunction with: List of birds, Yuma, Arizona (low deserts, river, elevations). The following markings are… …   Wikipedia

  • Tit (bird) — Chickadee redirects here. For other uses, see Chickadee (disambiguation). Tits and chickadees Crested Tit in Scotland …   Wikipedia

  • List of birds in Canada and the United States — This list of birds in Canada and the United States is a comprehensive listing of all the bird species known from the North American continent north of Mexico as of July 2008.North American birds most closely resemble those of Eurasia, which was… …   Wikipedia

  • Baeolophus — Taxobox name = Baeolophus image caption = Baeolophus bicolor regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Passeriformes familia = Paridae genus = Baeolophus Baeolophus is a genus of bird in the Paridae family, all of which are native …   Wikipedia

  • List of United States birds — This list of United States birds is a comprehensive listing of all the bird species known from the United States as of July, 2008. It does include species recorded in all 50 states.Continental United States birds most closely resemble those of… …   Wikipedia

  • List of birds of Canada and the United States — A five year old Golden Eagle North American birds most closely resemble those of Eurasia, which was connected to the continent as part of the supercontinent Laurasia until around 60 million years ago.[1] Many groups occur throughout the northern… …   Wikipedia

  • List of birds of Mexico — This is a list of the bird species recorded in Mexico. The avifauna of Mexico includes a total of 1,085 species, of which 108 are endemic, six have been introduced by humans, and 51 are rare or accidental. One species listed is extirpated in… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”