Paridae - Tits, Chickadees, Titmice

They are small birds between 3-8 inches in length. They have short to medium length rounded wings; short to long tails; long toes; and short, stout bills.

Their plumage is usually a combination of gray, black, white, brown, and yellow. Males and females look alike.

They eat insects and seeds and are found in forests and brushlands.

Paridae Photo Gallery

World Status Key
Least Concern Near Threatened Vulnerable Endangered Critically Endangered Extinct in Wild Extinct
Status and range is taken from ICUN Redlist. If no status is listed, there is not enough data to establish status.

US Status Key
Threatened in US Threatened in NH Endangered in US Endangered in NH Breeds in NH Introduced
Status taken from US Fish and Wildlife and NH Fish and Game

New Hampshire Species		North/Central American Species
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus Boreal Chickadee - Poecile hudsonicus Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor		Bridled Titmouse - Baeolophus wollweberi Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis Siberian Tit - Parus cinctus Mountain Chickadee - Poecile gambeli Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Poecile rufescens Mexican Chickadee - Parus sclateri
North/Central American Species
Black-crested Titmouse - Baeolophus atricristatus Oak Titmouse - Baeolophus inornatus Juniper Titmouse - Baeolophus ridgwayi

Other Species Around the World
Africa Asia Australia/Oceania Europe North America South America NH
Black-crested Titmouse - Baeolophus atricristatus Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor Oak Titmouse - Baeolophus inornatus Juniper Titmouse - Baeolophus ridgwayi Bridled Titmouse - Baeolophus wollweberi Sultan Tit - Melanochlora sultanea Gray Tit - Parus afer White-bellied Tit - Parus albiventris Palawan Tit - Parus amabilis Coal Tit -Parus ater Black-capped Chickadee - Parus atricapillus Blue Tit - Parus caeruleus Carolina Chickadee - Parus carolinensis Siberian Tit - Parus cinctus Ashy Tit - Parus cinerascens Crested Tit - Parus cristatus Parus cyanus Rusty-breasted Tit - Parus davidi Gray-crested Tit - Parus dichrous Elegant Tit - Parus elegans Stripe-breasted Tit - Parus fasciiventer Red-throated Tit - Parus fringillinus Dusky Tit - Parus funereus Mountain Chickadee - Poecile gambeli Miombo Tit - Parus griseiventris Yellow Tit - Parus holsti		Boreal Chickadee - Poecile hudsonicus Black-bibbed Tit - Parus hypermelaenus White-winged Tit - Parus leucomelas White-backed Tit - Parus leuconotus Sombre Tit - Parus lugubris Great Tit - Parus major Willow Tit - Parus montanus Green-backed Tit - Parus monticolus Black Tit - Parus niger White-naped Tit - Parus nuchalis Marsh Tit - Poecile palustris Rufous-vented Tit - Parus rubidiventris Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Poecile rufescens Rufous-bellied Tit - Parus rufiventris Dark-Gray Tit - Parus rufonuchalis Mexican Chickadee - Parus sclateri White-fronted Tit - Parus semilarvatus Yellow-cheeked Tit - Parus spilonotus White-browed Tit - Parus superciliosus Somali Tit - Parus thruppi Varied Tit - Poecile varius Yellow-bellied Tit - Parus venustulus Black-lored Tit - Parus xanthogenys Tibetan Ground-tit - Pseudopodoces humilis Yellow-browed Tit - Sylviparus modestus

Additional Information

Key: Profile Photos Video Audio

Ashy Tit - Parus cinerascens
The ashy tit is found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Black Tit - Parus niger
The black tit is found in Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Black-capped Chickadee - Parus atricapillus
The black-capped chickadee is found in Canada and the northern half of the United States.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Black-capped Chickadee - Parus atricapillus
The black-capped chickadee eats insects, spiders, berries, and seeds.
Source: Bird Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Black-capped Chickadee - Parus atricapillus
The black-capped chickadee is found near the edges of wooded areas.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Black-crested Titmouse - Baeolophus atricristatus
The black-crested titmouse is found in Texas and Mexico.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Black-lored Tit - Parus xanthogenys
The black-lored tit is found in India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Blue Tit - Parus caeruleus
The blue tit is found in Europe, the Middle East, extreme northern Africa, and western Asia.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Blue Tit - Parus caeruleus
The blue tit is found in deciduous and mixed forests and woodlands.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Blue Tit - Parus caeruleus
The blue tit is non-migratory.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Boreal Chickadee - Poecile hudsonicus
The boreal chickadee is found in Canada and parts of the northern United States, including New Hampshire.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Boreal Chickadee - Poecile hudsonicus
The boreal chickadee has a brown cap, a black bib, and white cheeks.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Boreal Chickadee - Poecile hudsonicus
The boreal chickadee hides food to eat later.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Boreal Chickadee - Poecile hudsonicus
The boreal chickadee eats insects, spiders, and seeds.
Source: Bird Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Bridled Titmouse - Baeolophus wollweberi
The bridled titmouse is found in Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Bridled Titmouse - Baeolophus wollweberi
The bridled titmouse is gray and white with a black throat and a gray crest on its head.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis
The Carolina chickadee is found in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis
The Carolina chickadee looks a lot like the black-capped chickadee.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis
There are four subspecies of Carolina chickadee.
Source: National Geographic Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Parus rufescens
The chestnut-backed chickadee is found in the western United States and western Canada.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Poecile rufescens
The chestnut-backed chickadee eats seeds, spiders, caterpillars, and insects.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Poecile rufescens
The chestnut-backed chickadee is found in moist coniferous forests.
Source: Bird Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Great Tit - Parus major
The great tit is found in Europe, the Middle East, Central and Northern Asia, and North Africa.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Great Tit - Parus major
The great tit is green and yellow with a black head and white cheeks.
Source: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Elementary School

Great Tit - Parus major
The great tit eats insects.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Great Tit - Parus major
The great tit is found in woodlands, parks, and gardens.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Green-backed Tit - Parus monticolus
The green-backed tit is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Taiwan, and Vietnam
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Juniper Titmouse - Baeolophus ridgwayi
The juniper titmouse is found in Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Juniper Titmouse - Baeolophus ridgwayi
The juniper titmouse and the oak titmouse were both called the plain titmouse until they were identified as two different species in 1996.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Mountain Chickadee - Poecile gambeli
The mountain chickadee is found in the mountains of the western United States and Canada.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Mountain Chickadee - Poecile gambeli
The mountain chickadee has soft insulating down next to its skin that helps keep it warm in cold weather.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Mountain Chickadee - Poecile gambeli
The mountain chickadee is found in dry coniferous forests.
Source: Bird Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Oak Titmouse - Baeolophus inornatus
The oak titmouse is found from California south to Baja California, Mexico.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Oak Titmouse - Baeolophus inornatus
The oak titmouse and the juniper titmouse were both called the plain titmouse until they were identified as two different species in 1996.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Somali Tit - Parus thruppi
The Somali tit is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Stripe-breasted Tit - Parus fasciiventer
The stripe-breasted tit is found in Burundi, The Democratic Republic of the Congo,, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Sultan Tit - Melanochlora sultanea
The sultan tit is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Tibetan Ground-tit - Pseudopodoces humilis
The sultan tit is found in China, India, and Nepal.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor
The tufted titmouse is found across the eastern United States.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor
The tufted titmouse has a pointed crest on the top of its head.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor
The tufted titmouse often joins chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers at bird feeders.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

White-backed Tit - Parus leuconotus
The white-backed tit is found in Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

White-bellied Tit - Parus albiventris
The white-bellied tit is found in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

White-naped Tit - Parus nuchalis
The white-naped tit is found in India.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

White-naped Tit - Parus nuchalis
The white-naped tit population is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation.
Source: BirdLife International Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School

White-winged Tit - Parus leucomelas
The white-winged tit is found in central and southern Africa.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Yellow Tit - Parus holsti
The yellow tit is found in Taiwan.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Yellow-browed Tit - Sylviparus modestus
The yellow-browed tit is found in Bhutan, China, India, Laos,Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Yellow-cheeked Tit - Parus spilonotus
The yellow-cheeked tit is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Source: Internet Bird Collection Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School