Fun Juniper Titmouse Facts For Kids

It is fascinating how the world is filled with beautiful and extraordinary organisms. From birds to animals to fishes, anywhere you look you'll be enthralled by the small details of each individual being.

One such beautiful creature inhabiting the world is a small bird species named juniper titmouse (Baeolophus ridgwayi). This little bird from family Paridae can be found in the woodland of pinyon-juniper which is warm and dry. Their bodies have a small tuft.

The upper side of the body is a darker shade of gray while the underside of the body is a lighter shade of gray. There are various subspecies of these birds found in North America such as the oak titmouse and plain titmouse.

Juniper titmouse (Baeolophus ridgwayi) can be found in woodland feeding on insects and spiders indicating their insectivorous nature. If you are interested in knowing about this bird you should also look at our other articles on fox sparrow and lark sparrow as well.
 

Juniper Titmouse Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a juniper titmouse?

The juniper titmouse (Baeolophus ridgwayi) is a small gray passerine bird species.

What class of animal does a juniper titmouse belong to?

The juniper titmouse belongs to class Aves and family Paridae. In simple words, plain titmouse, oak titmouse, and juniper titmouse are bird species.

One particular thing about juniper titmice is that these birds of North America have very well-developed flight muscles that assist them during flight. Apart from these features, juniper titmice have their hind limbs adapted to let them swim, hop, perch, and grasp.

How many juniper titmice are there in the world?

There are approximately 180,000 juniper titmice present in the natural habitat. Most of the plain titmouse, oak titmouse, and juniper titmouse are found in their habitat in the United States of America.

Where does a juniper titmouse live?

These bird species usually reside in open woodland. These birds of North America inhabit naturally made cavities and woodpecker holes. Juniper titmouse bird species are found all year round in the Great Basin.

But these little birds are original residents of southeastern Oregon and central Colorado. The juniper titmouse uses mud, straws, hair, feathers, and fur and hay to line their nest before breeding. They prefer living in juniper woodland regions since these birds love to feed on the seeds of the pinyon-juniper.

What is a juniper titmouse habitat?

Juniper titmouse birds are usually spotted in old, dry, warm woodlands and desert riparian woods. They prefer cavities, birdhouses, and dense foliage for resting.

They make their homes at 2,250-8,000 ft (685.8-2438.4 m) elevation in trees like sagebrush, Joshua tree, and in various species of shrub. These gray birds collect pine needles to create small spaces in their resting area where they reside and breed.

Who does juniper titmouse live with?

Juniper titmice prefers being in small groups. They usually avoid big flocks. One peculiarity of these small flocks is that they are composed of mixed species and not one type of bird.

How long does a juniper titmouse live?

The lifespan of a juniper and oak titmouse bird species is around three years. The longest living juniper was a female who lived for around four years and two months.

How do they reproduce?

The juniper titmice nest is constructed by the females in natural cavities of dead trees or stumps. They can also nest in old woodpecker holes as well as in nest boxes.

During the breeding season, females are more to likely select the area for nesting, and the role of the male juniper titmouse is not known. They prefer to prepare their nest at heights between 3-12 ft (0.9-3.6 m) from the ground.

A female juniper selects its nests where they lay eggs during the breeding season. The incubation period lasts from 14-16 days, while the nestling period lasts from 16-21 days.

The juniper titmouse eggs laid are white but may have faint reddish-brown freckles. The female juniper takes care of the nest on her own and does not get any help from the male partner.

What is their conservation status?

According to the North American Breeding juniper bird survey, the population of juniper titmouse is stable for now. About 99% of 180,000 juniper titmice present across the globe live in the United States. The remaining 1% is found in Mexico. The Juniper Titmouse Conservation Plan has played an important role in the conservation of the population.

Juniper Titmouse Fun Facts

What does Juniper Titmouse look like?

Juniper titmice are small birds, plain gray in color. It has a small black eye and has a tuft of feather on its head and has the presence of a crest. The underside of their belly is light gray in color.

How cute are they?

While a juniper titmouse looks quite adorable, it is better not to disturb their habitat. Junipers like to live among other flocks of birds and migrate with them.

How do they communicate?

These gray little birds have a distinct mating call. Juniper titmice sing a rapid and rolling series that consists of about 5-15 syllables.

Their call lasts for about three seconds. You can hear them sing all around the year but are more prominently heard in summer and spring. These breeding birds produce a very harsh and scratchy call in response to intruders.

How big is a juniper titmouse?

Juniper titmice have a long body and medium size neck. The juniper titmouse range of size is 5-6 in (12.7-15.2 cm). Juniper titmice are relatively larger than a Bushtit but comparatively smaller than a Junco.

How fast can a juniper titmouse fly?

The juniper titmouse flying speed is almost the same speed as other birds of the same species. Junipers’ speed is roughly 13 mph (20.9 kph) at its fastest.

How much does a juniper titmouse weigh?

The average weight of both male juniper and female juniper titmouse is in the range of 0.3-0.8 oz (8.5-22.6 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

They have no specific names and are known as males and females respectively. Their collective group is known as banditry.

What would you call a baby juniper titmouse?

The juniper titmouse baby is called a juvenile juniper titmouse.

What do they eat?

The juniper titmouse is an omnivorous bird. It feeds on both insects such as spiders, leafhoppers, and caterpillars, and seeds of pine, and oak. The juniper titmouse berry diet comprises wild berries like mulberries, blackberries, and hackberries. True to the names, juniper titmouse birds love to feed on the seeds of pinyon juniper.

Are they dangerous?

These birds are friendly small birds and usually harmless. In the United States of America, the folks call these birds in their backyards by sprawling pine seed for bird sighting.  These birds can stay around for hatching and once the nestlings are born and grown enough, they leave on their own without causing much harm.

Would they make a good pet?

These birds prefer to live in juniper woodland regions as the juniper titmouse loves to feed on the seeds of the pinyon juniper.

Did you know...

The juniper titmouse's call sounds like a rapid video game playing according to bird sighters.

While mating these birds maintain eye contact with their partners and produce a three-syllable call to attract their mates.

During non-mating season, these birds travel in a mixed flock but at the time of mating, these North American birds get aggressive with one another while looking out for a mate and prefer high trees for nesting.

These tiny birds do not make their nests but instead, look for woodpeckers holes or nests box for laying eggs.

These North American birds have a pretty unique way of eating. The food these birds find they do not eat all at once but instead they bury some food in the ground for later. This particular behavior of these birds is called caching.

How do you attract a juniper titmouse?

These birds usually nest in natural cavities or nest boxes that are available. So you can create small nest boxes in your backyard and put some berries  such as mulberries, blueberries, and pine seeds. These foods constitute the diet of a typical juniper titmouse.

What seeds does a juniper titmouse eat?

The juniper titmouse feeds on a variety of seeds but their favorite is the seeds of pinyon juniper. Oak, pine seed, and beach mast are other prefered seeds for these birds. These nesting birds also feed on various kinds of berries such as mulberries, blueberries,  hackberries, blackberries, and Virginia creeper.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our bowerbird facts and Hawaiian crow facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable juniper titmouse coloring pages.