View source for Biology:American bushtit

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = American bushtit
| image = Psaltriparus minimus -Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada -male-8.jpg
| image_caption = In Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada
| image2 = Psaltriparus_minimus_(American_Bushtit)_vocalizations_-_pone.0027052.s004.oga
| image2_caption = Song of the ''P. minimus''
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Psaltriparus minimus'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22712028A132100477 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22712028A132100477.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Psaltriparus
| parent_authority = Bonaparte, 1850
| species = minimus
| authority = (Townsend, 1837)
| range_map = Psaltriparus minimus map.svg
}}

The '''American bushtit''' or simply bushtit ('''''Psaltriparus minimus''''') is a social [[Biology:Songbird|songbird]] belonging to the genus '''Psaltriparus'''. It is one of the smallest [[Biology:Passerine|passerine]]s in North America and it is the only species in the family [[Biology:Aegithalidae|Aegithalidae]] that is found in United States; the other seven species are found in [[Earth:Eurasia|Eurasia]].<ref name="Townsend-1837" />

The American bushtit's distinguishing characteristics are its petite size, its plump and large head, and its long tail.<ref name="allaboutbirds"/> Its scattered range stretches from highland parts of Mexico and the Western United States to {{wipe|Vancouver}}, via the Great Basin, the lowlands and foothills of {{wipe|California}}, southern Mexico, and Guatemala. '''Bushtits''' usually inhabits mixed open [[Biology:Woodland|woodland]]s, which contains [[Biology:Oak|oak]]s and a scrubby [[Biology:Chaparral|chaparral]] understory. It can also be found residing in gardens and parks.{{cn|date=October 2023}} Their food source is small [[Biology:Insect|insect]]s, primarily, [[Biology:Spider|spider]]s in mixed-species feeding flocks.<ref name="allaboutbirds">{{Cite web |title=Bushtit Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bushtit/id |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=www.allaboutbirds.org |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Biology:Sharp-shinned hawk|sharp-shinned hawk]] and other [[Biology:Bird|bird]]s prey upon American bushtits.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bushtit |url=https://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-bushtit.html#:~:text=They%20also%20are%20preyed%20upon,as%20the%20Sharp-shinned%20Hawk.&text=DESCRIPTION:,member%20of%20the%20genus%20Psaltriparus. |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=www.oiseaux-birds.com}}</ref> Bushtits live in flocks of 10 to 40 birds and family members sleep together in their large, hanging nest during [[Biology:Breeding in the wild|breeding]] season. Once the [[Biology:Offspring|offspring]]s develop wings that are developed enough to fly, they leave the nest and sleep on [[Biology:Branch|branch]]es. The Bushtits display a unique behavior as adult males are typically the helpers that assists and raises the nestlings; hence it has intrigued many naturalists for its interesting breeding and mating patterns.<ref name="allaboutbirds" />

== Etymology ==
The name "bushtit" has its earliest known origins in the [[Social:Latin|Latin]] word ''[[Biology:Parus|parus]],'' which stands for titmouse. The ''tit'' in titmouse comes from the Old Icelandic word {{lang|non|titr}}, meaning something small.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-31 |title=Tiny Birds Crowd the Bath {{!}} Outside My Window |url=https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2020/01/31/tiny-birds-crowd-the-bath/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
The [[Biology:Binomial nomenclature|scientific name]] ''Parus minimus'' was given to the bushtit after it was [[Biology:Species description|originally described]] in 1837 by American naturalist and ornithologist John Kirk Townsend, where he reported that the species inhabited the [[Earth:Forest|forest]]s of the Columbia River.<ref name="Townsend-1837">{{cite journal | last=Townsend | first=John Kirk |  year=1837 | title=Description of twelve new species of birds, chiefly from the vicinity of the Columbia River | journal=Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia | volume=7 | pages=187-192 [190] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/24676853 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1986 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=12 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=59 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14482176 }}</ref> It is now the only species placed in the genus ''Psaltriparus'' that was introduced in 1850 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte.<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Bonaparte | first=Charles Lucien | author-link=Charles Lucien Bonaparte | year=1850 | title=Sur deux espèce nouvelles de Paridae | language=French | journal=Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences | volume=31 | pages=478–479 [478] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/1224601 }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2021 | title=Bushtits, leaf warblers, reed warblers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/bushtits/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=7 December 2021 }}</ref> The genus name ''Psaltriparus'' combines the genus ''[[Biology:Psaltria|Psaltria]]'' that was introduced by Coenraad Temminck in 1836 for the [[Biology:Pygmy bushtit|pygmy bushtit]] with ''[[Biology:Parus|Parus]]'' that was introduced by [[Biography:Carl Linnaeus|Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 for the tits.<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=319 | url=https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n319/mode/1up }}</ref>

There are 10 [[Biology:Subspecies|subspecies]] recognized:<ref name=ioc/>
{| class="wikitable"
! Species
! Authority
! Breeding range
|-
| ''Psaltriparus minimus saturatus'' || Ridgway, 1903 || Southwest Canada and the Northwest United States
|-
| ''Psaltriparus minimus minimus'' || Townsend, JK, 1837 || Coastal Western United States
|-
| ''Psaltriparus minimus melanurus'' || Grinnell & Swarth, 1926 || Southwest United States and North Baja California
|-
| ''Psaltriparus minimus grindae'' || Ridgway, 1883 || South Baja California
|-
| ''Psaltriparus minimus californicus''' || Ridgway, 1884 || South-central Oregon to South-central California
|-
| ''Psaltriparus minimus plumbeus'' || Baird, SF, 1854 || West-central, South United States and North-central Mexico
|-
| ''Psaltriparus minimus dimorphicus'' ||  Van Rossem & Hachisuka, 1938 || South-central United States and North-central Mexico
|-
| ''Psaltriparus minimus iulus'' || Jouy, 1894 || West and Central Mexico
|-
| ''Psaltriparus minimus personatus'' || Bonaparte, 1850 || South-Central Mexico
|-
| ''Psaltriparus minimus melanotis'' || Hartlaub, 1844 || South Mexico and Guatemala
|}

The subspecies ''P. m. melanotis'' was previously considered as a separate species due to their black ears.<ref>{{cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1986 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=12 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=61 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14482178 }}</ref>

==Description ==
With a length of 4.3 inches and a weight of 0.18-0.21 ounces, the American Bushtit is one of the smallest [[Biology:Passerine|passerine]]s in North America. It is mostly gray-brown in color, with a large head, short [[Medicine:Neck|neck]], long [[Biology:Tail|tail]], and small, stubby beak. Moreover, bushtits have different characteristics based on their [[Biology:Sex|sex]] and [[Earth:Habitat|habitat]]s. The male has dark brown to black eyes while the adult female has yellow eyes. Additionally, bushtits who stay near the [[Earth:Coast|coast]] tend to have a brown "cap" or "crowns," while those further inland have a brown "mask" on their faces.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

The subspecies (''P. m. melanotis'') can be recognized from its dark ear patch, called the auricular. This feature does not occur in the northern part of the American bushtits' range and it was first seen near the Mexican border, mainly in {{wipe|Texas}}. None of the bushtits in that location with the black ear patch are adult females; the majority of them are juvenile males with one or two dark lines on their faces rather than a whole patch.{{cn|date=October 2023}} Only in the northeastern highlands Mexican highlands does the black-eared variant become more prevalent farther south; all males have a full black ear patch, and even mature females have a black arc covering their eyes and typically a black line across them.<ref>{{Cite journal | title=Relationships between Black-Eared and Plain-Eared Forms of Bushtits (Psaltriparus)| journal = The Auk| doi = 10.2307/4083332 |url=https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/84/4/503/5198090?login=false |access-date=2023-10-22| doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Identifications ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Identification
!Description
!
|-
|Male (Pacific)
|Tiny with a chubby appearance, large head, a lengthy tail, and a compact bill. Their feathers are predominantly plain shades of brown and gray, though the specific plumage colors differ based on their geographic location.
| rowspan="3" |[[File:American Bushtit 6751vv.jpg|thumb|Male Bushtit ''(Psaltriparus minimus)'' in Western Washington state.]]
|-
|Male (Interior)
|Tiny with a long tail and short bill. They display a lighter shade of gray with gray crowns and tan cheeks, whereas those residing near the coast exhibit brown crowns.
|-
|Male (Melanotis group)
|Males in southwest Texas to Mexico have a black mask and display a shade of brown. The mask color tends to get darker as a bushtit moves further south.
|-
|Female (Pacific)
|Tiny like a ping-pong ball with long tail and pale eyes.
| rowspan="3" |[[File:American Bushtit 6731.jpg|thumb|Female Bushtit ''(Psaltriparus minimus)'' in Western Washington state.]]
|-
|Female (Interior)
|They display grayer crowns and brown cheeks with pale eyes.
|-
|Female (Melanotis group)
|Females in southwest Texas to Mexico have a brown mask and display a shade of light brown. The mask color tends to become darker as a bushtit moves further south.
|}

== Behavior ==
[[File:Bushtits on Feeder.jpg|thumb|upright|Congregating on feeder, Tumwater, Washington]]'''Bushtits''' usually inhabits mixed open woodlands, which contains oaks and a scrubby chaparral understory. It can also be found residing in gardens and parks.{{cn|date=October 2023}} It lives under the highland parts of Mexico and the western United States to {{wipe|Vancouver}}, via the Great Basin, the lowlands and [[Earth:Foothills|foothills]] of {{wipe|California}}, southern Mexico, and Guatemala.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

Regarding its behavior, the American bushtit has an active and social demeanor.{{cn|date=October 2023}} This species forms [[Biology:Flock (birds)|flocks]] of 10 to 40 individuals of various species, including [[Biology:Chickadee|chickadee]]s and [[Biology:Warbler|warbler]]s, to forage for tiny [[Biology:Insect|insect]]s and [[Biology:Spider|spider]]s in mixed-species environment. Group members frequently communicate with one another through what might be called brief spit calls.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

=== Nesting ===
Both the males and females work together to construct the hanging nest, which can take up to a month to complete. The nest features a hole near the top that goes down into the nest bowl, and it hangs up to a foot below its anchor point. Using spider webs and plant material, the adults create an elastic sac. Occasionally, they sit inside the nest while it's still being built, which stretches it downward. They cover the outside with fragments of adjacent plants, including the tree the nest is made in, and add insulating materials like feathers, fur, and downy plant debris. All the adults connected to the nest, including the breeding pair and helpers, sleep there when it's in use.Typically, the couple uses the same nest for their second brood of the year. Regarding its placement, the male and female hang spiderwebs from mistletoe or other foliage to test-sites for their nests. Nest locations are typically found on tree trunks or branches, ranging in height from three to one hundred feet.<ref name="allaboutbirds-2">{{Cite web |title=Bushtit Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bushtit/lifehistory |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=www.allaboutbirds.org |language=en}}</ref>

=== Breeding ===
Female Bushtits lay plain white oval [[Biology:Eggshell|eggs]] in batches of 4-10, but both [[Social:Parent|parent]]s share the responsibility of [[Biology:Egg incubation|incubation]] for 11–13 days. The egg is 0.5-0.6 inches in length and 0.4 inches in width. Once the chicks [[Biology:Egg incubation|hatch]], both the male and female Bushtits coorperate to feed and care for them for 14–18 days. They can raise 1-2 [[Biology:Clutch (eggs)|broods]] a year, and older [[Social:Sibling|sibling]]s from the first brood may assist in feeding the next.<ref name="allaboutbirds-2" /><ref name="The Spruce">{{Cite web |title=Bushtit Fact Sheet |url=https://www.thespruce.com/bushtit-386187 |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=The Spruce |language=en}}</ref>

During the breeding season, male and female Bushtits form pairs, actively participate in nest-building, and both engage in rearing the young. They are aided by other adult males who bring food to the nesting [[Philosophy:Pair bond|pair]]'s nest.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bird |first=Alex |date=2019-01-24 |title=Bushtit |url=https://www.birdwatchingacademy.com/bushtit/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=Bird Watching Academy |language=en-US}}</ref> Remarkably, during this time, the entire Bushtit family sleeps together in their large, hanging nest, unlike most breeding birds where only one adult typically sleeps on the nest at a time. After the young birds fledge, they move to sleeping on branches.<ref name="allaboutbirds-2" />

However, Bushtits can be sensitive during the breeding [[Process|process]].<ref name="The Spruce" /> If there are disturbances in the early nesting stages, they may abandon their nesting attempt and potentially seek a different [[Biology:Mating|mate]].<ref name="allaboutbirds-2" />

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Psaltriparus minimus 03647.JPG|Nest
Bushtit Nest.JPG|Nest
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) Nest.JPG|Nest
American Bushtit.jpg|Pleasanton, California
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{ cite book | last=Skutch | first=Alexander F. |  date=1960 | chapter=Black-eared bush-tit | title=Life Histories of Central American Birds II | series=Pacific Coast Avifauna, Number 34 | location=Berkeley, California | publisher=Cooper Ornithological Society | chapter-url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/pca/pca_034.pdf#page=212 | pages=211–225 | ref=none }}
* {{cite journal|last=Sloane|first=Sarah A.|title=Incidence and origins of nest supernumeraries at Bushtit (''Psaltriparus minimus'') nests|journal=Auk|year=1996|volume=113|pages=757–770|doi=10.2307/4088855|jstor=4088855}}
* {{cite book | author1=Howell, Steve N. G. | author2=Sophie Webb | title=A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1995 | isbn=0-19-854012-4 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/guidetobirdsofme0000howe }}
* {{cite book | author=Sibley, David |  title=The Sibley Guide to Birds | publisher=Knopf | year=2000 | isbn=0-679-45122-6}}
* Sloane, S.A. (2001). ''Bushtit''. In ''Birds of North America'', A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, F. Gill, Eds. Philadelphia: American Ornithologists Union.
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bushtit/ Bushtit species account] – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* {{InternetBirdCollection|bushtit-psaltriparus-minimus|Bushtit}}
* {{VIREO|Bushtit|Bushtit}}

<!-- See the good RangeMap/maps, list, etc at: "www.natureserve.org" ...Entire MAP is: "Permanent Resident".. ....in Mexico, they are in the 3 (three) Mountain Ranges surrounding the central Mexico: "Mexican Plateau"-->

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2746307}}

[[Category:Psaltriparus]]

{{Sourceattribution|American bushtit}}