Bushtit Identification

Male (Pacific)

Tiny, kinglet-sized birds. They are plump and large-headed, with a long tail and a short, stubby bill. Plain brown and gray overall, but plumage color varies geographically.

Male (Interior)

Tiny with a long tail and short bill. Individuals in the interior are paler gray and have gray crowns with tan cheeks while those closer to the coast have brown crowns.

Male

Nervously flits around from branch to branch in the understory of oak forests, evergreen woodlands, dry scrublands, streamsides, and suburbs.

Male (melanotis Group)

Males in southwest Texas southward through Mexico have black masks and females have brown masks. The mask color tends to get darker as one moves farther south.

Female (Pacific)

Tiny bird that looks like a ping-pong ball with a long tail. Females have pale eyes while males and juveniles have dark eyes.

Adult

Males and females help build a hanging socklike nest made from spider webs and plant material.

Female (Interior)

Individuals in the interior have grayer crowns and brown cheeks. Females have pale eyes while males and juveniles have dark eyes.

Female (melanotis Group)

Adult and juvenile

Parents feed fledglings for up to 2 weeks after they leave the nest.

Male (melanotis Group)

Females in southwest Texas southward through Mexico have brown masks while males have black masks, the color of which become darker as one heads farther south.

Male (Pacific)

Tiny, kinglet-sized bird with a long tail and short bill. Almost always on the move twittering as it goes. Birds along the coast have browner crowns.

Juvenile

Flock

Sprightly, social songbirds often seen in constantly twittering flocks.

Habitat

Found in open woods or scrubby areas, particularly pine-oak woodlands and chaparral, as well as suburbs and parks.