Both runs below are verbatim — ‘The Titmice’ from USDA Farmers’ Bulletin 630 (1926 revision) and the chickadee and titmouse accounts from the Forest Service’s 1977 Cavity-Nesting Birds of North American Forests.

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Ten pairs of eyes where the flicker has one

Birds of the titmouse family, though insignificant in size, are far from being so in the matter of food habits. What they lack in size of body they more than make up in numbers of individuals. While in the case of some larger birds, as, for instance, the flicker, there is one pair of eyes to look for food for one large stomach, we have in the case of the ten times as numerous titmice an equivalent stomach capacity divided into 10 parts, each furnished with a pair of eyes and other accessories, as wings and feet.

As against the one place occupied by the larger bird, 10 are being searched for food at the same time by the smaller species.

The character of the food of titmice gives a peculiar value to their services, for it consists largely of the small insects and their eggs that wholly escape the search of larger birds. Throughout the year most of the species of this group remain on their range, so that they are constantly engaged in their beneficial work, continuing it in winter when the majority of their coworkers have sought a milder clime.

It is at this season that the titmice do their greatest good, for when flying and crawling insects are no more to be found, the birds must feed upon such species as they find hibernating in crevices, or upon the eggs of insects laid in similar places. In winter’s dearth of moving insects the search for such animal food as may be found is perforce thorough and unremitting.

Within the boundaries of the United States are some 17 species of titmice, with nearly as many races or subspecies, so that there is no portion of the country lacking one or more forms. The western coast region is peculiarly rich in representatives of the family. In the eastern portion of the country the best-known and most widely distributed species is the common black-capped chickadee.

This bird, or some of its subspecies, occupies the whole of that part of the United States north of the latitude of Washington and extends into Canada. It is a prolific breeder, usually rearing from six to eight young in a brood.

What they lack in size of body they more than make up in numbers of individuals.

The 289-stomach ledger

Examination of 289 stomachs of this chickadee shows that its food consists of 68 per cent animal matter (insects) and 32 per cent vegetable matter. The former is made up of small caterpillars and moths and their eggs. Prominent among the latter are the eggs of the tent caterpillar moths, both the orchard and forest species.

As these are two of our most destructive insects, the good done by the chickadee in devouring their eggs needs no comment. During the winter the chickadee’s food is made up of larvæ, chrysalids, and eggs of moths, varied by a few seeds, but as spring brings out hordes of flying, crawling, and jumping insects, the bird varies its diet by taking also some of these.

Flies and bugs are the favorites until the weather becomes quite warm, when beetles and small wasps also are enjoyed. Among the bugs may be mentioned the plant lice and their eggs which are eaten in winter. The beetles nearly all belong to the group of snout beetles, more commonly known as weevils. These insects are mostly of small size, and nearly all are known to the farmer or fruit raiser as pests.

Seventeen of them were found in one stomach. Grasshoppers do not at any time constitute an important element of the food of the chickadee, as they are too large for so small a bird; moreover, they are for the most part terrestrial insects, while the bird is essentially arboreal. Small wasps and ants are eaten to some extent.

Spiders constitute an important element of the food and are eaten at all times of the year, the birds locating them when they are hibernating in winter, as well as when they are active in summer. The vegetable food of the chickadee consists largely of small seeds, except in summer, when they are replaced by pulp of wild fruit.

The wax from the seeds of poison ivy is eaten during the winter months, but the seeds themselves are not taken. In this respect the chickadee differs from most other birds, which swallow the seeds whole; these, after digesting the wax, pass the seeds through the alimentary canal, or regurgitate them, and so scatter them broadcast to reproduce the noxious plants.

The character of the food of titmice gives a peculiar value to their services, for it consists largely of the small insects and their eggs that wholly escape the search of larger birds.

The bush tit and the codling moth

In the southern part of the country the Carolina chickadee and the tufted tit replace the black-cap, but their food habits are so similar that there is practically no difference in the work done. In the West several other species occur; one of the most interesting is the bush tit which, with several subspecies, occupies the whole Pacific coast region.

They are active, social little creatures, and except for a short time during the breeding season are found in flocks, flitting from tree to tree, busily hunting for insects and their eggs. The contents of 66 stomachs of these birds were found to consist mostly of injurious insects to the extent of 83 per cent.

Of these the most important was a small hemipterous insect which amounted to more than half of the stomach contents. These insects are of considerable economic importance, as they frequently infest grapevines and other plants to a harmful extent. Several stomachs were almost exclusively filled with these minute creatures, some containing as many as 100 individuals.

Perhaps the most important and interesting insect found was the black olive scale, which occurred in 24 stomachs and amounted to a little more than 18 per cent of the food. In addition, a number of the stomachs were more or less filled with another scale, which was not further identified. A number of small snout beetles (weevils) were eaten and some small caterpillars; there were also the remains of a spider.

The vegetable food of the species seemed to consist mostly of seeds, but they were so broken up as to defy recognition. A little fruit pulp and a little mast were also found.

Among the stomachs of the bush tits examined were those of one brood of eight nestlings about 10 days old. The vegetable matter in these stomachs was only three-fourths of 1 per cent and consisted of one seed and some rubbish. The animal matter was made up of beetles, wasps, bugs, caterpillars and pupæ, and spiders.

The greatest interest lies in the fact that every one of these stomachs contained pupæ of the codling moth, on an average of over five to each. The oak tree in which these birds were found was in a belt of timber near a neglected orchard which the parent birds used as a foraging ground, and they did their best to remedy the neglect of the owner.

As feeding and digestion in the case of nestling birds is almost continuous during the hours of daylight, the above record would be several times repeated during a day’s feeding. There were probably not less than a dozen nests of the bush tit along the border of this orchard, and these birds must have exerted a great restrictive influence upon the increase of the codling moth, as well as of other insects in that vicinity.

Chickadee by chickadee: the 1977 handbook

Black-capped chickadee. — Habitat: Black-capped chickadees nest throughout southern Canada and the northern half of the United States. In Missouri, the black-capped chickadee generally nests north of the Missouri River and the Carolina chickadee nests south of the River. The breeding range extends farther south at higher elevations of the Rocky and Appalachian Mountain ranges than in non-mountainous areas. In Colorado, black-caps are most abundant in the ponderosa pine and aspen forests (Bailey and Niedrach 1965).

Nest: Chickadees nest in cavities but roost anywhere convenient, generally not in cavities (Odum 1942). The most suitable nesting sites are stubs with partially decayed cores and firm shells. They usually excavate their own cavities, but will use natural cavities or nest boxes. Black-caps will occasionally nest in a cavity they used the previous year after making some alterations.

Preferred nesting sites throughout the eastern forests are tree species that occur in the early seral stages but that are short lived and persist in the intermediate stages as decaying stubs (Odum 1941, Brewer 1961).

Food: The diet of the black-capped chickadee is comprised of 70 percent animal and 30 percent vegetable matter. Mast, chiefly from coniferous trees, and fruits of bayberry, blackberry, blueberry, and poison ivy make up the bulk of the vegetable matter. Animal material eaten (mostly insects) includes caterpillars, eggs, moths, spiders, and beetles. Winter diet is primarily larvae, eggs, katydids, and spiders (Bent 1946, Martin et al. 1951).

Carolina chickadee. — Habitat: The Carolina chickadee, which inhabits the southeastern forests, is a slightly smaller version of the black-capped chickadee. In Missouri, the Carolina chickadee nests south of the Missouri River throughout the Ozarks.

Nest: The nesting habits of the black-capped and Carolina chickadees are quite similar. They occasionally nest in natural cavities or deserted holes of woodpeckers, but commonly excavate their own nest cavity in decaying wood of dead trunks or limbs of deciduous trees (Bent 1946). Black-capped and Carolina chickadees line their nesting cavities with fine grasses and feathers.

Food: Food habits of the Carolina chickadee are also very similar to those of the black-capped chickadee. Food consists of insects and a variety of fleshy fruits and seeds (Bent 1946).

Mexican chickadee. — Habitat: This species inhabits pine and spruce forests from 7,000 to 10,000 feet elevation just inside the United States in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona and the Animas Mountains of New Mexico (Phillips et al. 1964).

Nest: Mexican chickadees excavate nest holes in dead trees or branches. One nest was found in a willow stub about 5 feet above the ground (Bent 1946).

Food: No information on diet was found in the literature.

Mountain chickadee. — Habitat: This common little chickadee can be found in most coniferous forests of the West from 6,000 to 11,000 feet (Bent 1946).

Nest: Mountain chickadees usually nest in natural cavities or abandoned woodpecker holes, and probably do not excavate their own cavities if suitable ones are available (Bent 1946). Winternitz (1973) reported five nests in live aspen and one in a dead aspen, 6 to 15 feet above ground. In Arizona, we have found five nests in live aspen, three in aspen snags, two in ponderosa pine snags, and one in a white fir snag.

Food: Insects probably make up a large portion of the diet (Bent 1946). Telford and Herman (1963) collected 10 birds in the Inyo National Forest, where there was an infestation of lodgepole needle miners and found 639 needle miner caterpillars in chickadee stomachs. Baldwin (pers. comm.) examined the contents of 17 stomachs from the Wet Mountains, Colorado, and found that 75 percent of the summer diet was insects.

Large numbers of spruce aphids were found, as well as flies, beetles, hymenopterans, and other insects. Vegetable material included seeds, spruce buds, and fruits. In southwestern Montana, during summer, mountain chickadees fed on lepidopteran larvae, especially cone worms and spruce budworms (DeWeese et al.[in prep.]), and insects made up about 98 percent of the diet.

Gray-headed chickadee. — Habitat: Broken forests or edges of aspen, willow, and spruce are the preferred habitat of the gray-headed chickadee. The range is limited to western Canada and Alaska.

Nest: Old woodpecker holes or natural cavities are selected as nest sites. Bent (1946) reported one nest about 6 feet above ground in a spruce snag.

Food: No information could be found in the literature on the food habits of the gray-headed chickadee, but the diet is probably similar to that of other chickadees.

Boreal chickadee. — Habitat: The boreal chickadee is fairly common in northern forests of spruce, fir, aspen, and birch (McLaren 1975).

Nest: Natural cavities, old woodpecker holes, or cavities excavated by the chickadees themselves are used for nesting (Bent 1946). McLaren (1975) found 22 nest holes, all in trees or snags with soft heartwood, and believed that softness of the core rather than a preference for a certain tree species is the determining factor in nest site selection.

Food: In summer the boreal chickadee consumes caterpillars, moths, beetles, other insects, and insect eggs; birch cones, seeds, and cedar berries are eaten in the fall and winter (Bent 1946).

Chestnut-backed chickadee. — Habitat: Coniferous forests of the humid coastal belt from Alaska to central California are the favorite habitat, but this bird is also found in adjacent deciduous woodlands and along streams (Peterson 1961, Grinnell and Miller 1944).

Nest: Nests of this species are in abandoned woodpecker holes or in cavities excavated by the bird itself. Nests have been found in pine, oak, and Douglas-fir snags (Bent 1946).

Food: The diet is made up of about 65 percent animal and 35 percent vegetable matter. Of the animal material, 25 percent is hemipterans, 18 percent caterpillars, 13 percent wasps, 7 percent spiders, and 2 percent beetles. Seeds and fruit make up the vegetable material (Beal 1907).

Tufted titmouse. — Habitat: The tufted titmouse is the largest North American titmouse and is common throughout the eastern deciduous woodlands. These active and vocal birds are generally found in groups of 2 to 6 in thick timber stands, often near water (Gillespie 1930). The black-crested titmouse, found in southern Texas and northeastern Mexico, is now considered conspecific with the tufted titmouse (33rd supplement, A.O.U. Checklist).

Nest: Nests of the tufted titmouse are very difficult to locate and are not often reported in the literature. Published accounts indicate that these birds nest in abandoned woodpecker holes or natural cavities usually less than 20 feet above the ground. While titmice are quite conspicuous in late fall and winter, they tend to disappear in late spring to nest and molt (Gillespie 1930, Laskey 1957).

Food: The diets of tufted titmice change seasonally. In spring and summer they eat primarily animal matter (89 percent and 82 percent respectively) and spend most of their feeding time in the tree tops. Caterpillars often make up over 50 percent of the animal matter. Common winter foods consist of beechnuts, acorns, dogwood berries, Virginia creeper berries, alder seeds, honeysuckle, seeds of tulip-tree pods.

In winter, they spend a larger percentage of their feeding time on or near the ground (Gillespie 1930, Martin et al. 1951).

Plain titmouse. — Habitat: Oak and pinyon-juniper woodlands from 5,000 to 7,000 feet elevation from Oregon south and west to Texas and New Mexico are the favored habitat of the plain titmouse.

Nest: Plain titmice usually nest in natural cavities or old woodpecker holes. Most reported nests have been in oaks, 2 to 23 feet above ground (Bent 1946). Nest boxes are used when available (Wetmore 1964).

Food: Beal (Bent 1946) examined the contents of 76 stomachs and found 43 percent animal material (true bugs 12 percent, caterpillars 11 percent, beetles 7 percent, ants and wasps 6 percent, daddy longlegs and grasshoppers 5 percent, spiders 1 percent, and 1 percent unreported) and 57 percent vegetable matter (cherries and pulp of larger fruit and leaf galls 32 percent, seeds of poison oak and weeds 25 percent).

Bridled titmouse. — Habitat: Bridled titmice prefer chaparral and pinyon-juniper in the Southwest at elevations from 5,000 to 7,000 feet. This titmouse also uses areas along streams where cottonwoods are present (Phillips et al. 1964).

Nest: Almost all nest locations have been recorded in natural cavities of dead and living oak trees from 4 to 28 feet above the ground (Bent 1946).

Food: No published information was found, but the diet is probably similar to that of other members of this genus. All live in similar habitats and spend much of their time foraging in crevices in the bark, on the trunks, and on branches, presumably hunting for adults, larvae, and eggs of insects (Bent 1946).

Source

Some Common Birds Useful to the Farmer, USDA Farmers’ Bulletin 630, 1926 revision, ‘The Titmice.’ Project Gutenberg #62678. Cavity-Nesting Birds of North American Forests, USDA Agriculture Handbook 511 (1977), chickadee and titmouse species accounts. Project Gutenberg #49172. Public domain. Project Gutenberg #62678, #49172.

Passages reproduced verbatim. Mechanical edits only: footnote markers and figure references removed; illustration placeholders and species-header lines dropped; hard line-wraps joined; seven 1926 OCR fixes: ‘rich In representatives’ → ‘rich in representatives’, ‘terrestrial Insects’ → ‘terrestrial insects’, ‘an Important element’ → ‘an important element’, ‘poison ivy Is eaten’ → ‘poison ivy is eaten’, ‘hunting for Insects’ → ‘hunting for insects’, and two dropped periods restored: ‘eaten to some extent Spiders’ → ‘eaten to some extent. Spiders’, ‘harmful extent Several’ → ‘harmful extent. Several’. The table restates figures that appear in the reproduced text.