Measurements
Both Sexes
- Weight
- 0.4–0.7 oz
10–21 g
Other Names
- Mésange unicolore (French)
Cool Facts
- The Oak Titmouse sleeps in cavities or in dense foliage. When roosting in foliage, the titmouse chooses a twig surrounded by dense foliage or an accumulation of dead pine needles, simulating a roost in a cavity.
- The Oak Titmouse mates for life, and pairs defend year-round territories. Most titmice find a mate in their first fall. Those that do not are excluded from territories and must live in marginal habitat until they find a vacancy.
- The Oak Titmouse, unlike other members of the family, does not form flocks in winter.
Habitat
Open Woodland
Warm, dry oak and oak-pine woodlands at low to mid-elevations.
Food
Insects
Seeds and terrestrial invertebrates. Uses bird feeders.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 3–9 eggs
- Egg Description
- White, unmarked or with minute reddish brown speckling.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless.
Nest Description
Nest in hole in tree, built of grass, moss, hair, and feathers. Uses nest boxes.
Nest Placement
Cavity
Behavior
Foliage Gleaner
Gleans insects from bark and foliage. Hangs upside down. Hammers seeds against branch to open them.
Conservation
Least Concern
Oak woodlands in California are under threat of development.
Credits
- Cicero, C. 2000. Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus) and Juniper Titmouse (Baeolophus ridgwayi). In The Birds of North America, No. 485 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.