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Cavity Nester ⌀ 1.25" Compact

Tufted Titmouse

Baeolophus bicolor

Floor
4" × 4"
Interior height
8"
Entrance hole
⌀ 1.25"
Mount height
5–15 ft
Breeds
Mar–May
Broods / yr
1
Cool Facts

Things you didn't know about the Tufted Titmouse

01

Tufted Titmice often pluck hair from sleeping mammals — including humans — to line their nests. Reports of titmice landing on people for hair are not urban myth.

02

Pairs typically stay on territory year-round and let yearling young remain through winter, giving them an unusual extended-family social structure.

03

They were once a southeastern bird; warming winters have pushed them as far north as southern Maine and Minnesota.

Attract Them

How to bring the Tufted Titmouse to your yard

Confident at feeders and easy to attract if you have mature trees nearby. They'll cache sunflower seeds in bark crevices and return for them later.

Food

Black-oil sunflower seeds, peanut pieces, and suet. They'll hang upside down on tube feeders to extract seeds.

Box placement

Mount a 1¼" entrance box 4–10 ft up on a tree trunk or pole near a wooded edge.

Cover & landscaping

Native oaks above all — they support both the insects titmice feed their chicks and the acorns titmice cache.

Water

Shallow bath with a perching rim. They drink frequently and bathe vigorously.

Competitors

House Wrens and chickadees compete for the same hole size; multiple boxes spaced 75+ ft apart give each species a shot.

Avoid

Don't strip your yard of leaf litter — titmice forage in it for insects and acorns.

Range & Habitat

Where you'll find them

A resident of the eastern US that has expanded steadily north and west over the last century. Always near mature deciduous trees.

By region
  • Southeastern US

    Year-round residents throughout from Virginia to Florida and west to east Texas. Most abundant where oak-hickory forest dominates.

  • Northeast (expanding)

    Now resident as far north as southern Maine, central New York, and southern Quebec. Their northward push is one of the clearest songbird responses to warming winters.

  • Midwest

    Common from Ohio west to eastern Iowa, eastern Kansas, and Oklahoma.

Habitat preferences

Mature deciduous and mixed forest, especially oak-hickory. Common in well-treed neighborhoods, parks, and wooded yards.

deciduous woodlands parks suburbs
Approximate range centroids — see the regional breakdown above for the specifics
Fledge Kit

The right house for the Tufted Titmouse

Cavity Series

Small body + 1¼" panel

Body sized to 4"×4" floor. The 1¼" panel locks out larger nest competitors while letting the Tufted Titmouse pass cleanly.

See the full lineup
Seasonal Care

When to install. When to clean.

Install by
By late February
Cleaning
September–October
Winter use
Yes — overnight roosts

Often roosts in old woodpecker cavities or boxes during winter — keep yours up year-round.