Bushtit
Psaltriparus minimus
Summary 3
The American Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) is a very small round brown and gray bird with a long tail and short stubby bills. Males and females are similar, but females have pale eyes and males have dark eyes.
Bushtits often travel in mixed species flocks with chickadees, kinglets, wrens, and other small songbirds. Pairs begin to separate from flocks in January-February.
Similar SpeciesOak titmouse are slightly larger body, crest on head.
Habitat 4
Bushtits are found in woodlands and scrub habitat with scattered trees and shrubs. Brushy streamsides, pinyon-juniper, chaparral and pine-oak associations as well as in trees and shrubs in residential areas.
Life History 5
Nesting Both sexes cooperate in building a hanging nest from spider webs, lichens, plant material, feathers and other bits of material. The mated pair often has helpers, other adult males that assist with protecting and feeding the chicks. Interestingly, until all of the chicks fledge, all of the adults and chicks sleep inside the nest. Breeding pairs may be monogamous for several years.
Feeding Bushtits are gleaners and eat small insects and spiders and other invertebrates that they find on leaves and twigs.
Distribution 6
Bushtits are found in the coastal ranges from southwestern British Columbia south to southern Baja California, in interior from southern and southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, north-central Utah, western Colorado, western Oklahoma, and central Texas, south into Mexico and Guatemala (Terres 1980).
Migration 7
Bushtits are resident birds.
Sources and Credits
- (c) matt knoth, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/18158503@N00/2196341730
- (c) Flickr, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7841698372_fb336b90a6_o.jpg
- Adapted by gillian360 from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psaltriparus_minimus
- Adapted by gillian360 from a work by (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28814637
- Adapted by gillian360 from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/18668972
- Adapted by gillian360 from a work by (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28814631
- (c) gillian360, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
