Fun Black-crested Titmouse Facts For Kids

The Black-crested Titmouse, Baeolophus atricristatus, also known as the Mexican Titmouse, belongs to the Paridae family. Formerly, it was a subspecies of Tufted Titmouse and also it was believed that the two species were the same. These crested titmice are native to southern and central Texas, the southern part of Oklahoma, parts of Mexico (east-central), and sometimes can be spotted in St. Louis, Missouri. The habitat of this bird includes forests, woodlands, riverside groves, thorns, and oak-juniper scrubs and brushlands and found near trees and trees' shade. These birds are mostly found or spotted in pairs. The pairs formed for breeding are known to stay together for a whole year. The Black-crested Titmouse nest is old and natural cavities in trees, holes of woodpecker, nest boxes, and the nest is lined with soft materials like animal hair. Around four to seven eggs are laid and these eggs are white with reddish-brown speckles or spots. Incubation lasts for about 12-14 days. The family stays together for some time feeding the young ones before the juveniles leave the nest. This bird has a gray upper body and paler or whitish belly and males are known to have dark-black colored, erect crest while the females do not have such a dark crest. Sometimes the crested titmice are known to have brown-colored edges. This bird is known to be very similar to the Tufted titmouse. The food of this bird includes insects, seeds, berries, and nuts. It is quite fascinating to know about these species and if you are interested, read about the Magpie and Chicken Hawk too.

What type of animal is a Black-crested Titmouse?

The Black-crested Titmouse, Baeolophus atricristatus, is a bird.

What class of animal does a Black-crested Titmouse belong to?

It belongs to the class of Aves of birds.

How many Black-crested Titmice are there in the world?

There is no exact or specific number of the population size of the Black-crested Titmouse.

Where does a Black-crested Titmouse live?

These birds are known to be native to southern and central Texas, Oklahoma, and parts of Mexico (east-central) and sometimes can be spotted in St. Louis, Missouri.

What is a Black-crested Titmouse's habitat?

These birds are known to inhabit forests, woodlands, riverside groves, thorns, and oak-juniper scrubs and brushlands types of habitat.

Who does Black-crested Titmouse live with?

These birds mostly live in pairs.

How long does a Black-crested Titmouse live?

These birds are known to live for about 2.1 years. The oldest recorded bird of this species was around five years and one month old at the time of recapturing. It was then re-released during the operations in Texas.

How do they reproduce?

Pairs formed are known to stay together for a whole year. Nesting territories are established after that. The nests of these birds are cavities or holes in trees, which can old or natural ones or woodpeckers' holes, birdhouses, fence posts, nest boxes and are lined with animal hair and similar material are generally 3-20 ft (0.9-6.1 m) above the ground. Four to seven white eggs with reddish-brown colored spots or speckles are laid around in March or April. It is believed that the incubation is mostly done by the females and it takes place for 12-14 days. Females spend more time with young ones while the males are known to get the food. Both the parents feed the young ones. The juvenile Black-crested Titmouse is known to leave the nest after 15-16 days of hatching.

What is their conservation status?

Not much information is available about the threats to these birds and their conservation status has been identified as Least Concern.

What does a Black-crested Titmouse look like?

This species or this bird has gray-colored upper parts or body and has a whitish or pale-colored belly or underside. The males are known to have a long and dark-colored, erect crest while the black-crested titmouse female does not have such a dark crest rather is known to be gray. These birds or species are known to have peach-colored or rusty flanks.

How cute are they?

These birds are considered cute because of their crests.

How do they communicate?

Not much information is available about the communication of these birds but just like other birds, these birds produce sounds and calls. One of its call or songs is known to sound like 'peter, peter, peter' and is very similar sounding to a Tufted Titmouse but is slightly shorter. It is believed that these titmice are quite loud.

How big is a Black-crested Titmouse?

These titmice are similar in size to a sparrow and slightly larger than a Carolina chickadee. The length of these titmice ranges from 5.5-6 in (140-152 mm).

How fast can a Black-crested Titmouse fly?

The exact speed of these titmice is unknown but they are known to be fast ones. These crested titmice are known to be acrobatic foragers but are slow and systematic.

How much does a Black-crested Titmouse weigh?

The weight of these titmice is known to be around 0.04 lb (0.021 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names for a male and female of the species.

What would you call a baby Black-crested Titmouse?

There is no particular name for a baby of this species but they are referred to as chicks and juveniles.

What do they eat?

Primarily the diet of these titmice includes insects and seeds and in summer, the most important food source is caterpillars. These birds are also known to eat beetles, bees, spiders, and snails. Their diet also consists of seeds, berries, nuts, and small fruits.

Conversely, the predators of these species include common nest predators like snakes, raccoons, skunks, and squirrels.

Are they poisonous?

These titmice are not considered poisonous.

Would they make a good pet?

The Titmouse would not make a good pet as they are wild animals.

Did you know...

The name titmouse is known to be of 14th-century descent which is because of the Old English word Mase and tit meaning or referring to something small and its earlier name titmouse was influenced or named after the mouse in the 16th century.

These birds are known to hybridize with the Tufted Titmouse bird in the overlapping range.

Initially, the two species the Tufted Titmouse and the Black-crested Titmouse were considered the same, or the latter was considered to be a subspecies of the former but later recognized as two different species because of the genetic and vocal differences and thus, the Tufted Titmouse is considered to be one of the birds similar to Black-Crested Titmouse, Baeolophus Atricristatus. The mitochondrial DNA states that the two species diverged or separated 250,000 years ago.

The tufted titmouse bird does not have a black crest like the Mexican crested one.

The North American species of this family are known as chickadees or titmice.

Do titmouse birds migrate?

These crested titmice are known to be residents in their range and habitat and are non-migratory.

Are they predators?

Yes, these birds are predators as they feed on bees, wasps, and beetles.

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 Australian magpie fun facts and white hawk surprising facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Black-crested Titmouse coloring pages.

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