Tufted Titmice in Texas

Tufted Titmouses live in Texas all year — eastern Texas; replaced by Black-crested Titmouse in central and south Texas. Hard freezes are brief outside the Panhandle, so most feeder birds face heat and drought stress more than cold. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward acorns and beechnuts; sunflower, peanuts and suet at feeders.

Humid subtropical in the east and along the Gulf, semi-arid to arid in the west; long, hot summers and short, mild winters over most of the state.

Across Texas, tufted titmice typically nest from March–June. Nest site: natural cavities and old woodpecker holes; uses nest boxes. Females lay 3–9 eggs, incubate for 12–14 days, and young leave the nest after 15–16 days.

Afternoon highs regularly exceed 95°F — nest boxes need shade or light-colored, ventilated construction, and water matters as much as food.

• Have boxes cleaned and mounted before February — tufted titmice begin prospecting ahead of egg-laying.
• Use a 1 1/4 in round entrance on a 4 × 4 in floor, mounted 5–15 ft.
• Fit a pole baffle or hole guard; ventilation gaps and drainage holes are essential.
• Clean out old nests after each brood and again after June.

Of the regional native plants we track for Texas, these 8 provide food or cover tufted titmice use:

Titmice favor large seeds, carrying them off to hammer open or cache within about 130 ft of the feeder.

• Best foods: Black-oil sunflower, Shelled peanuts, Suet.
• In Texas's winter: Hard freezes are brief outside the Panhandle, so most feeder birds face heat and drought stress more than cold.

Full diet breakdown for tufted titmice · Best feeder for tufted titmice