Black-crested Titmouse

About the Black-crested Titmouse

The black-crested titmouse or Mexican titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus), is a passerine bird in the family Paridae, the tits and chickadees. It is found in Mexico and the U. S. states of Oklahoma and Texas and as a vagrant in at least one other state.

The black-crested titmouse was originally described in 1850 as Parus atricristatus. It was later reassigned to its present genus Baeolophus that was erected in 1851. Still later it was treated as conspecific with the tufted titmouse (B. bicolor). As early as 1988 it was treated by some taxonomists as a separate species and the American Ornithological Society did so in 2002. The black-crested and tufted titmice hybridize in a narrow zone in Oklahoma and Texas.

The black-crested titmouse has these three subspecies: B. a. paloduro Stevenson, JO, 1940 B. a. sennetti Ridgway, 1904 B. a. atricristatus (Cassin, 1850) The black-crested titmouse is about 15 cm (5.9 in) long and weighs about 16.5 g (0.58 oz). It is a moderately large member of its family and has a distinct crest. The sexes have the almost the same plumage. Adult males of the nominate subspecies B. a. atricristatus have the eponymous... Wikipedia →