Tufted Titmouse (TX)
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| Species: Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) Location: Greenville, TX Status: All six nestlings fledged! View comments View donor list |
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2007 Highlights:
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Apr. 18 - At 2:00 this
afternoon, fledging is complete. The Tufted Titmouse family has
been a pleasure to watch and we look forward to another opportunity to
peek in on the lives of these beautiful birds! |
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Apr. 18 - Last, but certainly not least! |
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Apr. 18 - Number five is ready for takeoff! |
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Apr. 18 - Four fledged and two to go! |
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Apr. 18 - And the third.... |
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Apr. 18 - And the second.... |
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Apr. 18 - The first fledgling is ready to leave the nest! |
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Apr. 17 - It is getting very
crowded in the nest box, so the young are trying to venture out on
their own. Here is a great image of a nestling practicing for the big day! |
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Apr. 16 - The nestlings are growing up fast and should be fledging in the next few days! |
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Apr. 13 - Titmice hatchlings are
born with their eyes closed, but by the eighth day after hatching,
their eyes are completely open. |
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Apr. 12 - The nestlings look more like their parents as each day goes by. |
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Apr. 10 - Our first image of all
six nestlings waiting to be fed! Over the next few days, the
female will spend less time brooding the young and more time sharing
the foraging responsibility with the male. |
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Apr. 8 - Tufted Titmice usually raise one brood per year with an average clutch size of 5 to 6 eggs. |
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Apr. 7 - It can be a challenge
to care for several nestlings and it has been observed that titmice can
have "helpers" to assist with caring for the young. These
"helpers" are offspring from previous seasons that help with feedings. |
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Apr. 5 - Nestlings are hatched
in an altricial state, meaning that they are born naked, blind, and
helpless and must totally rely on the parents for their survival. |
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Apr. 4 - A visit from the male provides some much needed help to feed the young nestlings. |
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Apr. 3 - Even though this image
only shows four hungry mouths, we believe that six of the seven eggs
have hatched. It is difficult at this stage to be certain, but as
the nestlings grow, the number of young will be more apparent. |
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Apr. 1 - It appears as though
hatching is complete. The female will now spend two-thirds of her
time brooding the nestlings and the other third of her time away from
the nest foraging for food. |
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Mar. 31 - The female will brood
the new nestlings for the first few days after hatching, much like she
did during the end of the incubation period. During this stage,
the male will bring food to the young twice as often as he does to the
female. |
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Mar. 30 - Our first image of the male titmouse as he visits the female in the nest! |
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Mar. 30 - As the eggs are hatched, the female will remove the broken eggshells from the nest. |
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Mar. 30 - The first egg hatched
at about 10:00 AM today! Even though each egg was laid one day
apart, it takes 24 to 36 hours from the time the first egg hatches
until all of the eggs are hatched. |
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Mar. 28 - The end of the incubation period is near and hatching of the first egg should occur in the next 2 to 3 days. |
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Mar. 26 - Female titmice incubate the
eggs approximately 70-80% of the day, leaving the nest for brief
periods of up to 20 minutes. |
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Mar. 25 - The Tufted Titmouse is the
only species of titmouse known to inhabit the eastern U.S. Three
other species of titmice live in the western U.S. |
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Mar. 24 - Eggs of the Tufted Titmouse are typically white with red, purple, or brown speckles. |
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Mar. 23 - Proper incubation
requires that the eggs be rotated regularly. This helps ensure that the
developing embryo doesn't get stuck to the shell membrane. |
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Mar. 21 - Observations from this
nest have revealed that the female spends nearly 80% of her time
incubating, leaving briefly for 5-10 minutes to feed. |
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Mar. 20 - At seven eggs, the
clutch appears complete. Average incubation periods are 12-24 days,
which means we can expect hatching around April 1st! |
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Mar. 19 - At approximately 8 AM this morning, the seventh egg was laid! Clutch sizes can be between 3
and 9 eggs, but 5 or 6 is more typical. |
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Mar. 18 - The female Tufted Titmouse peeks in on her now six-egg clutch! |
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Mar. 17 - The female enters the box with a mouthful of nesting material she is using to refine the nest. |
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Mar. 16 - We know that during egg laying the female conceals the eggs, but it appears she also tries to conceal herself. The arrow is pointing to her tail which is all that is visible of her above the nest material. |
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Mar. 14 - The female titmouse is
incubating three eggs! Eggs are often well-camouflaged,
especially with such a wide variety of nesting materials present in the
nest box. |
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Mar. 12 - A typical song of the Tufted Titmouse involves repeated syllables of one to two notes. The vocalization "peter-peter-peter" is commonly heard by this species. |
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Mar. 11 - The population distribution
of the Tufted Titmouse includes almost the entire eastern half of the
United States and part of Northern Mexico. |
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Mar. 10 - Tree cavities are the
preferred habitat of titmice, and research indicates that an increase
in logging of woodland areas can adversely affect the population of
this species. |
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Mar. 9 - Food chosen by a Tufted
Titmouse includes mostly insects such as caterpillars, ants, and bees
although fruits and seeds are used to supplement the diet. |
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Mar. 8 - The Tufted Titmouse is considered a resident species that shows little migratory activity. |
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Mar. 7 -
Nest building has already started and what a
nest it is! It can be
difficult to see exactly what material is in
the box, but titmice
typically line the nest with
hair, cotton, and even snakeskin.
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