Psaltriparus minimus
The American Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) is a charmingly diminutive songbird, vying with hummingbirds for the title of North America's smallest passerine. Measuring a mere 10-11 cm (4-4.3 inches) in length with a wingspan of approximately 15 cm (6 inches) and weighing just 5-6 grams, its plain, grayish-brown plumage and short tail are often its most distinguishing features. Most subspecies present a soft, uniform gray-brown back and head, with paler underparts, while the “Black-eared Busht...
This species thrives in a variety of open woodlands, chaparral, and scrub habitats, often frequenting oak, mixed evergreen, and riparian forests, as well as suburban gardens with dense vegetation, from sea level up to 3,000 meters.
Primarily insectivorous, American Bushtits consume small insects, insect larvae, aphids, scale insects, and spiders, gleaned acrobatically from leaves and branches, occasionally supplementing their diet with small berries or seeds.
American Bushtits are perpetually active, diurnal birds, known for their ceaseless foraging. Outside the breeding season, they form highly cohesive, often large, mixed-species flocks that ceaselessly glean insects and spiders from foliage, moving through trees and shrubs with remarkable agility, ...
The American Bushtit is a non-migratory resident species, found throughout western North America, extending from southwestern British Columbia, Canada, south through the Pacific states (Washington, Oregon, California), across the intermountain West and Rocky Mountain states (Idaho, Nevada, Utah, ...
Least Concern
- The American Bushtit is one of North America's smallest songbirds, second only to the hummingbirds in diminutive stature. - They are renowned for their intricate, expandable, sock-like nests, which can stretch up to a foot (30 cm) long and are artfully camouflaged with lichens and mosses. - Bus...