Bird guide · Baeolophus inornatus
Oak Titmouse
What the oak titmouse eats, where it lives, when it comes to feeders and how to recognise it – with sightings from every US state.
- Season
- Year-round resident
- Size
- 5.5 in (13.5 cm)
- Eats
- sunflower seeds, suet, peanut butter
- Feeds
- tube, suet cage
- Most common
- California, Oregon
Food
What do oak titmouses eat?
At feeders, oak titmouses take sunflower seeds, suet, peanut butter.
Opens nuts and acorns by holding them with its feet and pounding with its bill.
Feeder that suits it
A suet cage on a tree trunk or pole; peanuts and sunflower hearts work too.
Range
Where do oak titmouses live?
Pacific slope from southern Oregon through California. By share of all bird sightings, oak titmouses are most common in California (0.9%).
Season
Does the oak titmouse migrate?
Year-round resident. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in December.
Share of all bird sightings in the US that are oak titmouses, by month.
Identification
How to identify the oak titmouse
Adults: Grey or brownish-grey with a very plain face and a short crest.
Size: 5.5 in (13.5 cm)
Easily confused with
- Juniper Titmouse – greyer; ranges overlap only in a small area
- Bushtit – no crest, long tail
Nesting
Does the oak titmouse use nest boxes?
Yes. Entrance hole 1 1/4 in (32 mm) per NestWatch.
On camera
Getting the oak titmouse on a feeder camera
Pick a camera feeder that takes a suet cage, or mount a separate camera next to a suet feeder on the trunk – woodpeckers cling to the bark while they feed.
Questions
Oak Titmouse: questions
What do oak titmouses eat?
At feeders, sunflower seeds, suet, peanut butter.
Do oak titmouses migrate?
Year-round resident. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in December.
Where do oak titmouses live?
By share of all bird sightings, they are most common in California, Oregon. They are rare or absent in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut.