Bushtit
(Psaltriparus minimus)

Overview

Summary

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A century ago, the Bushtit was considered an irregular visitor to British Columbia, but it is now a common bird in the southwestern part of the province. It is best monitored in Canada through the Christmas Bird Count, the results of which show a large increase since 1970. There are no conservation concerns at this time.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1970-2016)
• British Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas (2008-2012): Breeding Evidence

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation

General nesting period in Canada

Conservation and management

The Bushtit is well adapted to suburban and rural habitats, so there are few, if any, management concerns for the species (Sloane 2001). The expansion of the Bushtit's range has been attributed to the expansion of these habitats in southwestern British Columbia, as well as the general climatic warming trend over the past century (Butler 1981).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Butler, R.W. 1981. The historical and present distribution of the Bushtit in British Columbia. Murrelet 62:87-90. Butler, R.W. 1981. The historical and present distribution of the Bushtit in British Columbia. Murrelet 62:87-90. (Link)
• Sloane, S. 2001. Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Sloane, S. 2001. Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)