Oak Titmouse: "The Voice and Soul of the Oak Woodlands"
I prefer to think of these little birds as humble, modest, or unassuming rather than dull, drab or plain, as the Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus) is often described. Though its name literally means inornate or unadorned, this bird is bedecked with a jaunty little crest and packs a lively personality into its small frame. Until recently, the Oak Titmouse was lumped together with the Juniper Titmouse and considered a single species, the Plain Titmouse; this is how you will find them listed in field guides and other sources pre-1996.
As its common name would imply, the Oak Titmouse is inextricably linked with the oak woodlands of California. Indeed, it is nearly endemic to our state, as the vast majority of breeding populations occur within California. (A few birds do stray into the dry oak woodlands of southern Oregon and northern Baja.)
One male Oak Titmouse has several songs in his repertoire, but a common and distinct song you may become familiar with is a repeated "tweedy tweedy" (or so it sounds to me; some describe it as "peter peter" and Sibley phonetically spells it "tuwituwi"). Male titmice use their musical prowess to enthusiastically defend their territory from neighboring birds. Oak Titmice are non-migratory and stay on the same territory year-round. Research indicates that Oak Titmice are one of the few small songbirds that actually mate for life and remain monogamous until one partner dies.
The Oak Titmouse feeds on seeds and insects gleaned from the leaves and bark of oaks, as well as from the floor of the woodland. They are a delight to watch as they hop about the leafy canopy or scratch through leaf litter in search of tasty morsels. Oak Titmice are also known to hold acorns with their feet and hammer them open with their beak.
Despite their small size (adult titmice weigh about half an ounce) these birds are fierce! They are known for ganging up against predators to scold, mob and even chase them away, at times teaming up with other small songbirds of different species. Enemies of the titmouse include snakes, squirrels and jays, all of whom steal eggs and nestlings, and raptors, such as owls and Cooper's hawks, which are notorious for preying on small birds.
Oak Titmice are cavity nesters, and begin searching for the following spring's nest location as early as the preceding October. They favor naturally rotted cavities in oaks, but will make use of woodpecker holes as well. The nest constructed inside the cavity is lined with soft plant material, fur and feathers. Because competition for suitable nest sites is fierce among cavity-nesting birds, one hole may be occupied in turn by titmice, followed by swallows, all in one season.
Because mature oak trees are critical for the success of Oak Titmice as a species, and oak habitat has been steadily declining over recent decades, this small, unassuming species is on the National Audubon Society's WatchList. They are said to favor Blue Oaks (Quercus douglasii), the common oak of the foothills that surround California's Great Central Valley in an almost perfect ring. While they are most common in oak woodlands of the foothills, I regularly see Oak Titmice in the few remnants of Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) woodland that line the rivers of the valley floor - specifically, the San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tuolumne Rivers.
To hear "the voice and soul of the oak woodlands" (as the Oak Titmouse was called by prominent California ornithologist Dave Shuford) for yourself before venturing out to find this special bird, visit Cornell's website:
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