The Triumphant Tufted Titmouse

Last week, we promised you birds, and birds you shall receive.

With the digital drop of our 2026 New Plants Supplement this week (get it HERE in PDF format), it’s officially time to dive into the weeds of some of this year’s primary landscape trends and concerns. Aside from resilient, adversity-tolerant plants capable of succeeding in hellish conditions, we’ve noticed increasing demand for plants that support native bird and insect populations. This year, we’re going to introduce or re-familiarize you with various North American birds and the plants that help to determine their livelihoods on a larger scale. This week, we bring you a long-time (and my own personal) feathered favorite, the affable tufted titmouse.

Watching winter birds at a feeder, one will almost certainly notice the convivial, slate-grey and white birds with rusty orange sides and feathered crests akin to a cardinal’s, beeping socially amongst themselves as they search for some of their favorite human offerings: black oil sunflower seeds. Tight-knit families of tufted titmice can often be seen visiting feeders together, composed of a monogamous breeding pair and their offspring from the year before.

Like tiny, flying hoarders, tufted titmice are known to collect seed from feeders and store it back in the tree cavities they call their homes to ensure a constant supply of nutrition throughout the cold winter months.

Their cozy cavities, which are often repurposed openings in dead trees, have been found lined with hairs from various sources, including dogs, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, cats, and even the occasional human. Once upon a time during the homebound days of COVID, while basking in the dappled afternoon sunlight of my then-backyard in Mount Holly, New Jersey and diligently placing an Instacart grocery order, a tufted titmouse landed directly on my head and started plucking out my hairs. Not just once, mind you - the same bird came back several times, landing rather plainly on the top of my head and carefully choosing which hairs would be suitable for its nest. If you ever want to have the Snow-White experience, I highly recommend befriending a community of tufted titmice.

Aside from their love of sunflower seeds, tufted titmice are heavy foragers of wild seeds and nuts in winter, including beech nuts and acorns, but tend to prefer hunting for insects during the warmer months. Tufted titmice, though omnivorous by nature, are avid insectivores when the opportunity is ripe, and can be seen fluttering from tree to tree in search of caterpillars, beetles, wasps, and unwanted pests like treehoppers, snails, and stink bugs. Naturally, a healthy ecosystem is crucial for supporting not only the tufted titmouse, but the insect and plant populations that ensure their livelihood when human bird seed isn’t available.

Attached is a list of native plant species that directly support tufted titmice, providing forage material throughout the year, whether it be of the photosynthesizing or crawling variety.  Ready to team up with the tufted titmouse?  Add these selections to your next order to start building your titmouse temple!