NatureCounts - The State of Canada's Birds

Tufted Titmouse

Baeolophus bicolor

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Summary Population Trends Population Goals

Distribution More species Methods Acknowledgements

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The State of Canada's Birds is presented in partnership by Environment and Climate Change Canada and Birds Canada.

The Tufted Titmouse can raise and lower the feathers forming its crest, and does so to communicate with other members of its species. Like the closely related chickadees, the titmouse holds food like seeds with its feet so it can hammer them open with its beak.

Summary

National

Trend

Large Increase

Confidence: Very High

Goal

Within Goal Range

The Tufted Titmouse reaches the northern limit of its distribution in southern Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick, where it's a year-round resident in open woodlands and suburbs. There are approximately 1,200 individuals in Canada, representing just 0.01% of the global population and a very low degree of responsibility for Canada. The Canadian population of Tufted Titmouse has shown a large increase of over 4000% relative to 1970. Confidence in this assessment is very high because of the magnitude of change, which is supported by data from both the Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count. The national population of Tufted Titmouse is within its goal range.

Migration Strategy

Resident

Canadian Responsibility

Very Low

Population Estimates

Breeding 1,200

Annual 1,200

Global 12,000,000

Population Trends

The Canadian population of Tufted Titmouse is effectively monitored by the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and the Christmas Bird Count (CBC). which both provide good geographic coverage. Although precision of the BBS is lower, it uses a more standardized approach, and is therefore considered slightly more reliable than the CBC for this species. Both programs report very large increases of 4000% or more since 1970, with the BBS indicating the most rapid growth between the early 1990s and early 2010s and the CBC showing an ongoing acceleration of growth. This aligns well with the breeding bird atlases for Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes, which have all documented a northward expansion of the population since the 1980s or 1990s.

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Population Goals

The goal for Tufted Titmouse is to remain at or above its recent population level, based on the Breeding Bird Survey. Trend data show that Tufted Titmouse is currently within its goal range.

National

Canada

Population Goal

Maintain recently established population

Population status relative to goal

Within Goal Range

Goal is based on Breeding Bird Survey

Designations