How to Identify aBushtit
Psaltriparus minimus · 2.8–3.1 in (7–8 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Plain gray-brown with a slightly browner cap, a long tail and dark eyes.
Female
Identical but with pale yellow eyes.
Male photo: Polinova / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Second photo: Alex Critch / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0
Field marks
- Tiny, round-bodied with a disproportionately long tail
- Completely plain plumage
- Always in restless flocks of ten to forty
- Very short stubby bill
Similar species
What it sounds like
A constant thin twittering of high "spit" and "tsit" notes as the flock moves.
Behaviour that gives it away
Weaves a hanging sock-shaped nest up to a foot long from moss, lichen and spider silk, and several adults may help raise one brood.
Habitat & range
Oak woodland, chaparral, scrub, parks and gardens across the West.
When you'll see it
Present all year in western and southwestern North America.
What it eats
Tiny insects and spiders gleaned from twigs and leaves.
Did you know?
Its hanging woven nest can take a month to build and stretch a foot long, an enormous structure for a bird weighing about as much as a nickel.
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