• Tufted titmouses have a stout, round bill that they use for cracking seeds.
• They often hold seeds with their feet while they break them open with the bill.

• Birds have feathers on their wings rather than hair like humans. Feathers are light and waterproof and are adjustable for flight control.
• Birds have lightweight beaks instead of heavy jaws and teeth like humans.
• Most bones in their bodies are hollow or honeycombed, making them very lightweight. Some of their bones are fused for increased efficiency and lighter weight.
• Birds have a larger and more efficient respiratory system than humans do since flight is a physically-demanding activity.

• Birds do not have teeth and are not able to chew food. Because of this, they have a specialized part of their stomach, called a gizzard, that helps with digestion by grinding food.
• The small stones, sand, and grit that birds pick up while they are eating are stored in the gizzard.
• Once food is swallowed and makes its way to the gizzard, it is pulverized by the grit and stomach muscles.
• Some birds like chickens, ducks, and turkeys have thick, muscular gizzards. Other birds that eat food items that are easy to digest, such as nectar and soft-bodied insects, have thin-walled gizzards.

• They are active during the day (diurnal).

• During breeding season, males protect their territory from other male intruders.
• They sing and chase away any other birds that might be a threat to their territory.
• They also become more aggressive toward other male tufted titmouses that they view as a threat.
• Aggressive behaviors include calling often, flying around the other bird, or crouching with their head facing the other bird.
• They also use their crest as a form of communication. They raise their crest as a sign of dominance or lower their crest as a sign of submission.

• Tufted titmouses will cache or hide food during the fall and winter.
• They hide seeds in any holes within trees or tuck the seeds behind the bark.
• They usually only carry one seed at a time and often peel or shell the seeds before hiding them.

• Tufted titmouses are very vocal birds and make distinct calls if a predator (animal that eats them) is spotted.
• The two main calls used to warn others about predators or threats are the 'chick-a-dee' call and the 'seet' call.
• The 'seet' call is often called the 'flying predator' call because they tend to make this noise when a bird of prey, such as a hawk or falcon, is spotted.

• Females build cup shaped nest within a cavity (natural holes in dead trees or old woodpecker holes).
• They use plant material like wet leaves, grasses, mosses, and bark.
• The nest is usually lined with soft animal materials like fur or wool.
• It takes around 6 – 11 days for the females to build the nest.

Tufted Titmouse Nest
BirdOculars.com
Click image to enlarge it

• Females lay 3 – 9 (average of 5 – 6) hard-shelled eggs per brood.
• Each egg is creamy white in color with chestnut red or brown spots.
• Eggs are just under an inch long.
• They have 1 brood per year.

• Babies hatch from eggs after 12 – 14 days.
• When they hatch, they do not have any feathers aside from a few tufts of soft, gray down.
• They remain in the nest for 15 – 16 days and rely on their parents until they have grown in their first set of feathers.

• Average is 2 years.

• Adult tufted titmouses are a food source for birds of prey including hawks and owls.
• Tufted titmouse nestlings are often consumed by squirrels, snakes, raccoons, oppossums, and skunks.

• Tufted titmouses often store seeds during the winter.
• Sometimes they do not return to their cache sites (storage sites), giving the seeds a chance to germinate and grow into new plants.

• Tufted titmouses have an effect on the populations of the invertebrates that they use as a food source.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Birds of the World