Bushtit

Psaltriparus minimus

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family AEGITHALIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A very small, drab gray bird with a long tail and a social nature. Bushtits are usually found in flocks of up to 40 individuals, often mixed in with other species.

Cool Facts

• The Bushtit is the only member of its family in the Americas; seven other species are found in Eurasia. All have similar complex hanging nests.

• The Bushtit often has helpers at the nest, birds other than the parental pair that feed nestlings.

• All family members sleep together in the complex nest during breeding, but they leave it after the young fledge, and sleep on branches.

Description

• Size: 7-8 cm (3-3 in)
• Weight: 4-6 g (0.14-0.21 ounces)

• Very small bird.
• Long tail and short wings.
• Plain gray-brown without markings.

• Short black bill.
• Some males, especially in Mexican form, have a black mask.

Sex Differences

Female has light eyes, male has dark eyes.

Immature

Eyes dark. Female's eyes become light within a month of fledging.

Similar Species

• Oak and Juniper titmice have short crests.
• Immature Verdin is small and all gray, but has a pointed bill, a shorter tail, and is paler.

Sound

Calls given constantly by flock. Contact call is distinct "tsit" or "spit." Also high pitched, bell-like "sre-e-e-e."

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident year-round from extreme southwest British Columbia, southward through Washington and Oregon, eastward to Colorado and Texas, southward to Guatemala. May move higher up mountains in summer and into desert in winter.

Habitat

• Found in a variety of habitats, ranging from forested mountain to arid brush.
• Prefers open mixed woodland with some evergreens or shrubby understory.
• Common in suburban areas.

Food

Small insects and spiders.

Behavior

Foraging

Gleans insects off foliage. Often hangs upside down. Uses one foot to bend back foliage to expose middle of clumps.

Other Behavior

Huddle together on branches in cold weather.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Elaborate hanging gourd-shaped nest (15-30 cm, 6-12 in) with small, circular, side-facing hooded entrance near top. Built of spider webs and plant material, insulated with feathers, fur, or downy plant matter.

Egg Description

White and smooth.

Clutch Size

4-10 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Naked and helpless.

Conservation Status

Adapts well to suburbs. Range slowly expanding north and west.

Other Names

Mésange buissonniere (French)
Sastrecillo (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Sloane, S. A. 2001. Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus). In The Birds of North America, No. 598 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.