Birds
Bushtit
Psaltriparus minimus · also called bushtits
A hanging sock-shaped nest sways gently from a branch, weeks in the making, while its tiny builders, a flock of bushtits, have already moved on to another patch of scrub, chattering constantly as a dozen small bodies flit through the foliage together.
Overview
The bushtit, Psaltriparus minimus, is one of the smallest songbirds in North America, native to forest and scrub habitat across the western part of the continent. Its remarkable hanging nest construction and habit of moving in large, tightly bonded flocks make it one of the more socially distinctive small birds in its range.
A tiny bird with an outsized social life
Rarely seen alone, a bushtit spends most of its life surrounded by a dozen or more constantly chattering companions, a social arrangement that helps a bird this small survive in numbers what it could never manage on its own.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and common across suitable forest and scrub habitat throughout western North America.
Bushtit: common questions
What does a bushtit's nest look like?
A bushtit constructs a distinctive hanging, sock-shaped nest woven from spiderweb, moss, and lichen, with a small entrance positioned near the top, a structure that can take several weeks of dedicated effort to complete and provides considerable insulation and camouflage for the tiny bird's eggs and chicks.
Why do bushtits travel in such large flocks?
Outside the breeding season, bushtits move together in large, highly social flocks of a dozen or more birds, maintaining near-constant soft chattering contact calls, a social strategy that likely improves both foraging efficiency and predator detection for a bird small enough to be vulnerable on its own.
Do other birds help raise bushtit chicks?
Yes, some bushtit nests receive assistance from additional adult birds beyond the breeding pair itself, a cooperative breeding behaviour that can improve the number of chicks a nest successfully raises, particularly useful given how small and vulnerable individual bushtits are.
Where does the bushtit live?
The bushtit is native to forest, woodland, and scrub habitat across much of western North America, ranging from southern Canada down through the western United States and into Central America.