TITMOUSE, one of the diminutive birds of the subfamily Parincr, family Parities, which are among the most interesting of passerine birds. There are more than 75 known species, ranging widely over most parts of the world except Australia, but most abundant in the temperate and colder regions of the northern hemisphere. None of them are really migra tory, though they roam widely during the winter in search of food, nor are they gregari ous, though in this particular also stress of weather frequently causes them to gather in flocks, often with other small birds,— as red polls, finches, etc. They are not songsters, though most of them have characteristic, and frequently musical, call notes, and during the breeding season they sing after, a fashion, rather weakly. They are very active, restless, familiar birds, usually showing little fear of man and oftentimes coming about houses in their continual search for food. They eat everything from seeds to the eggs and young of other birds. The nesting habits are varied, but they lay numerous eggs and raise two or more broods each season. The plumage is never brilliant, though occasionally strilcing, but is most frequently plain, though very taste ful.
Structurally the titmice, aside from their small size, are hard to distinguish from the jays. to which birds their habits also ally them in many ways. The bill is short and stout, straight and unnotched, and there are no rictal bristles, but the base is covered by tufts of bristly feathers, directed forward, entirely con cealing the nostrils. The feet are stout, with scutellate tarsi and short toes. The wing is rounded, with 10 primaries, of which the first is exceedingly short. The tail as long as or longer than the wing is composed of 12 feathers, and usually rounded or graduated. The plum age of the body, long, soft and loose.
Of the 75 species of titmice, one-fifth occur in Atnerica all of these having been taken within the limits of the United States. About two-thirds of all the species belong in the genus Parus, and the same proportion holds among our Americ,an forms. The most abundant and familiar of our species is the blacic-capped tit mouse (P. atricapillus), widely distributed and known everywhere as the chickadee. The typical form ranges in eastern America from typical form ranges in eastem, but closely allied sub-species, or species, occupy practically all the rest of the Continent. The general color is ashy gray, the back with a brownish tinge, the under parts white, or nearly so; the crown, nape, c.hin and throat black, with the cheeks white. In size, the various forms range from four and one-half to five and one-half inches, of which the tail is about half. The chickadee is a very active, tireless little bird, retiring to the woods and swamps during the summer, but in winter very abundant in our villages and parks and about houses. It can easily be attracted to any spot where food is provided, and if unmolested by cats or other wise will soon become very familiar. Although it eats bread and crumbs and other articles of a vegetarian's diet, its tastes are carnivorous and it is especially fond of "meat-on-the-bone.) When foraging for themselves, chickadees eat an enormous number of insects and thus justify their existence, if that were necessary. As a matter of fact chickadees are so familiar, so daintily clothed, so cheerful even in the severest weather, and so courageous, and their usual call note "chick-a-dee-dee,° is so pleasing, none of our birds is more universally loved and en joyed. In the spring, when the mating begins, the chickadee has another note, a plaintive, though not drawled, "pe-we.° The nest is a
mass of moss, feathers, wool, plant down, etc., placed in a hole in a stump, tree or fence post, usually not far from the ground. The eggs are five to eight in number in each of the two broods, and are white, spotted with reddish brown. The chickadee of the South Atlantic States (P. carolinensis) is said to have notes quite different from the northern species. In the southeastern United States, ranging north to New Jersey, but rarely further, is another very abundant titmouse, quite different from the chickadee in both color and form. known as the tufted titmouse (Parus bicolor). It is a gray bird, with a black forehead, and a con spicuous crest, an inch longer than the chicka dee and not so attractive. The notes are not so attractive as those of the chickadee and be come monotonous; the most common rendering in words is "peto, peto, peto,° but it also has other calls. The tufted titmouse is not so familiar or confiding as the chickadee and is distinctly a woodland bird, seldom seen about houses. It is not shy and is readily ap proached, while the prominent crest makes it easy to recognize. The nesting habits and the eggs are similar to those of the chickadee. but the latter are considerably larger. A tufted titmouse occurring in the valley of the Rio Grande (Parus atricristatus) is notable for its glossy black crest, while the bridled titmouse (P. wollueberi) is a related species occurring in the southwestern United States, and is remark able for the very conspicuous black and white markings on the head. Besides several other interesting species of Parus, the southwestern United States is the home of four or five very small titmice, belonging to the genera Psaltri parus and Auriparus. The former are called °bush-tits° and though very plainly colored with black, brown and plumbeous, their very small size, four inches or even less, and their large, woven, pensile nests, with lateral entrance, make them an interesting group. The gold tit (Aumparus flaviceps) is of about the same size, but is notable for the rich yellow head, the other upper parts being ashy and lower parts whitish. These little birds build great globular nests of twigs, in the bushes, lining them with down and feathers. The eggs are pale bluish speckled with brown.
Of the tits of the Old World, seven species occur in Great Britain, but one of them, the crested tit (Parus csistatus), is only an acciden tal visitor. The great tit (P. major) is the largest European species, though only about the size of our tufted titmouse. The general color is yellowish and gray, with white cheeks and black head and throat. The blue tit (P. cceruleus) and the cole tit (P. ater) are the commonest of the English species. The former has the top of the head light blue and a bluish cast to the rest of the plumage. It is the species usually called "tom-tit" The azure tit (P. maws) of Siberia, which %s sky-blue and white, and the large Japanese tit (P. varius), which is handsomely marked with chestnut, will serve as examples of the more brightly colored titmice. The long-tailed tits of the genus lEgithalos are remarkable not merely for their excessively long tails but because they build very elaborate cozy nests, which are purse shaped and hang free or are attached along one side to the trunk of a tree. The eggs are very numerous, as many as 20 having been found in one nest.
Consult in addition to standard ornithologies, Cones, 'Birds of the Northwest> (Washington 1874) ; and 'Birds of the Colorado (Washington 1887), and Evans, A. H., (in 'Cambridge Natural Vol. IX, New York 1900).