Oak Titmouse

Parus inornatus
STANFORD LOCATIONS:

Common resident throughout campus, nesting in natural cavities and old woodpecker holes. Territories often adjoin those of the Chestnut-backed Chickadee, which see. Oak titmice are usually found in or near oak-dominated areas, being more strictly tied to oaks than the Chestnut-backed Chickadee.
  
Nest
Location
Nest
Type
Eggs
Mating System
Dev.
Parental Care
Primary &
2ndary Diet
Foraging
Strategy
F
I: 14-16 DAYS
ALTRICIAL
SNAG
3 feet - 10 feet
(To 32 feet)
?
6-8
(3-9)
MONOG
F: 16-21 DAYS
MF
FRUIT
SEEDS
BARK GLEAN
BREEDING: Pinon-juniper and oak woodland.? broods.
DISPLAYS: ?
NEST: In natural or woodpecker-excavated cavity, often partially excavated by pair; of moss, grass, forbs, lined with fur, feathers. Female selects nest site.
EGGS: White, unmarked or faintly marked with reddish-browns. 0.7" (17 mm).
DIET: Includes few spiders; acorns.
CONSERVATION: Winter resident. Readily use nest boxes.
NOTES: Pairs usu remain together from year to year; with rare exception, mates are replaced only if they disappear. Female is a tight sitter on nest. Young fed by regurgitation through fourth day; driven from territory as soon as they are able to care for themselves. Roost in cavities. Occ join mixed-species flocks in nonbreeding season.
ESSAYS: Bird Guilds; Mixed-Species Flocking; Bathing and Dusting; Monogamy.
REFERENCES: Hertz et al., 1976; Wagner, 1981.

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Except for Stanford Locations, the material in this species treatment is taken, with permission, from The Birder's Handbook (Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin, & Darryl Wheye, Simon & Schuster, NY. 1988).