Tufted Titmouse
(Baeolophus bicolor)

Overview

Summary

© Paul Pratt
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The Tufted Titmouse is a rare species in Canada, whose populations are restricted primarily to southern Ontario's Carolinian forests and, more recently, southern Quebec and New Brunswick. First reported in Canada in 1914, the Tufted Titmouse has spread slowly since then (Read 2007). Breeding bird atlases in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes indicate range expansions and an increase in detections in these areas, and  Breeding Bird Survey results suggest a large increase in the Canadian population.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario (2001-2005): Breeding evidence
• North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1970-2016)
• Quebec Breeding Bird Atlas (2010-2014): Breeding Evidence
• Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas (2006-2010): Breeding Evidence

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation

Conservation and management

Canada hosts a very small but increasing portion of the North American Tufted Titmouse population. Its increasing numbers and northward expansion are likely the result of climate warming and increased bird feeding (Ritchison et al. 2015). The recent increase in southeastern Canada is likely due to immigration from the expanding populations in adjacent Michigan, New York, Vermont, and Maine (Sauer et al. 2017). There is no current conservation concern for this species in Canada.

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

• Read, P. 2007. Tufted Titmouse. pp. 404-405 in: Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005. Cadman, M.D., D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. Lepage and A.R. Couturier, Eds. Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario Nature, Toronto, Ontario.
• Ritchison, G., T.C. Grubb Jr., and V.V. Pravosudov. 2015. Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), version 2.0. In: The Birds of North America (P.G. Rodewald, ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. Ritchison, G., T.C. Grubb Jr., and V.V. Pravosudov. 2015. Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), version 2.0. In: The Birds of North America (P.G. Rodewald, ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. (Link)
• Sauer, J.R., D.K. Niven, J.E. Hines, D.J. Ziolkowski, Jr, K.L. Pardieck, J.E. Fallon, and W.A. Link. 2017. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2015. Version 2.07.2017 USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, USA. Sauer, J.R., D.K. Niven, J.E. Hines, D.J. Ziolkowski, Jr, K.L. Pardieck, J.E. Fallon, and W.A. Link. 2017. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2015. Version 2.07.2017 USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, USA. (Link)
• Second Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Southern Quebec. 2017. Regroupement QuébecOiseaux, Environment and Climate Change Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service, and Bird Studies Canada. Québec, QC. Data obtained from the website on 27 February, 2017. Second Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Southern Quebec. 2017. Regroupement QuébecOiseaux, Environment and Climate Change Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service, and Bird Studies Canada. Québec, QC. Data obtained from the website on 27 February, 2017. (Link)