Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

Tufted Titmouse [lateral view of adult]. Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; City Lake, Putnam County, Tennessee; 11 February 2012.

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Abundance: Common during all seasons; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the Regional population trend is stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; specimen (6 June 1938; Coopersville, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940); photograph [lateral view of adult at feeder] (Janie C. Finch; Allen Hollow Rd., Putnam County, Tennessee; September 2007).

Regional High Count and CBC/CBB High Count: 281 (23 December 2010; Cumberland County, Tennessee [Crossville CBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 246 (18 September 2010; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 236 (10 May 2008; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent). An obligate cavity nester, the titmouse also occasionally uses artificial nest boxes such as those erected for bluebirds.

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: registered on 120 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 194 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, resulting in a YardWatch frequency classification of Common each year; this result quite expectedly coincides with the overall Regional abundance classification of this very feeder-adaptable species.  The YardWatch results for the titmouse are exactly the same as the results obtained for the Carolina Chickadee, another unsurprising element of the YardWatch data.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: The titmouse is one of two species, the other being the Carolina Chickadee, that form the nucleus of foraging flocks of woodland passerines during late summer, fall, winter, and early spring; these flocks attract other species of passerines and, depending on the season, may be fairly small (< 10 individuals in mid-winter) to moderate-sized (c. 30 individuals or more during mid-autumn).  Individuals are thought to be attracted to these loose assemblages in part to gain the greater security from predators that is afforded by many pairs of alert eyes as opposed to the lesser degree of security that is afforded by a single pair of eyes.  The exact composition of foraging flocks during the various seasons and in various habitats of the Region would make for a good study.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited