The Bushtit lives throughout the western coast of the North American continent. It ranges from southern Canada to Central America.(Harwood,1982)
These birds live from woodland to drier areas in the Arizona region. Bushtits are normally found in pinyon-juniper habitats and near wooded riverbeds. This bird is also found in tree-lined riverbanks, hillside aspen groves, sagebrush, and mountain-mahogany forests. (Fisher, 2000)
The Bushtit is a small grayish bird with a long tail. Depending on where you see these birds, their facial colors and features differ. Most have brown caps. In the Rocky Mountain area it has a gray cap and brown cheeks. (Harwood, 1982)
The nest of the Bushtit is made from wool, lichens, roots and twigs. The nest hangs from a tree or bush. Within the nest are two to seven white eggs. The incubation period for the eggs is about twelve days. (Fisher, 2000)
Bushtits travel in flocks most of the year. In these flocks they help one another with tasks such as nest building or defending their territory. These flocks, or bands, contain up to forty birds. The Bushtit is very active and doesn't stay in one area for very long. They stay close enough together that little chirps keep them in contact with each other. One can see these birds in an area and all of a sudden they disappear and re-emerge a couple hundred yards away from where they were last seen. (eNature.com, 2000)
The Bushtit feeds on insects and spiders that live in surrounding shrubs and trees in its habitat. It also feeds on small seeds from fruits.(Fisher,2000)
As a song bird, the Bushtit is favored on the west coast of the North American continent for its enjoyable song. Since their diet includes insects, they eat certain insects that could be pests to humans. (eNature.com, 2000)
The Bushtit, with few natural predators, flourishes in its natural habitat and has no need for extensive preservation. (Fisher, 2000)
Kip Conley (author), Milford High School, George Campbell (editor), Milford High School.
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
uses sound to communicate
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
uses touch to communicate
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
uses sight to communicate
Fisher, C. "Long Pine Guide To Birds Of The Rocky Mountains" (On-line). Accessed October 22, 2000 at http://220.127.116.11/birdsite/brdpgs/743.htm.
Harwood, M., T. Burke, G. Fichter, S. Kaicher, P. Lehman. 1982. North American Wildlife. Pleasantville, New York Montreal: Reader's Digest.
eNature.com, 2000. "eNature.com Nature Guides" (On-line). Accessed October 31, 2000 at http://www.enature.com.