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  Profile

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  In flight

Songbirds

Bushtit

Psaltriparus minimus

• rare
• 55 km/h
• Least Concern

Travels in chittering flocks of 40, weaves a hanging sock-nest, weighs less than a nickel. Strength in tiny numbers.

Population

~4.3 million individuals, stable

Habitat

Open woodlands, oak scrub, chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodland, and well-wooded suburbs/parks from lowlands to mid-elevation mountains; avoids high mountains and hot deserts

Fun fact

The Bushtit is the only member of the Old World family Aegithalidae found in the Americas, and its whole extended family sleeps huddled together in one large hanging, sock-shaped nest during the breeding season; males can even have yellow vs. dark eyes as a sex-distinguishing trait.

Range

Western North America, from southwestern British Columbia and the western/southwestern US through the Mexican highlands to Guatemala; largely year-round resident (some interior southwestern populations shift to lower elevations seasonally)

Diet

Small insects and spiders (leafhoppers, treehoppers, aphids, scale insects, caterpillars, beetles, ants, wasps), plus occasional berries and seeds

Size

0.11 m

Wingspan

0.17 m

Lifespan

9 years