Baeolophus bicolor
Peter-peter-peter, whistled loud and clear through eastern woods and leafy suburbs from late winter into summer, is the Tufted Titmouse. Each phrase is two notes, the first higher, repeated several times in a quick run. All year it also gives a scratchy, nasal tsee-day-day-day, like a chickadee in a bad mood, and scolds loud and harsh when it spots a predator.
Every sound the Tufted Titmouse makes
4 sounds to learn, 3 with a recording.
Peter Song
High pitch · Repeated
A ringing whistled phrase of two notes, PEE-ter, the first higher than the second, repeated quickly several times in a row (sometimes ten or more): peter-peter-peter-peter. It is clear and simple, like someone whistling for a dog, and carries a long way through bare winter woods. Now and then a female sings it too.
“peter-peter-peter”
Mostly late winter through early summer, and the standard song at dawn.
Variant Songs
Mid pitch · Varied
Later in the morning, many males switch from peter to odd whistled patterns: a single note repeated, choppy multi-note phrases, or tunes that barely sound like a titmouse. Neighboring males often share the same variant and trade it back and forth.
Spring, mostly after the dawn chorus and in exchanges between neighboring males.
Chickadee-like Call
Mid pitch · Series
A scratchy, nasal call that starts with a thin, high tsee and drops into harsh day-day-day notes. It is built like a chickadee's chick-a-dee-dee-dee but sounds wheezier and more irritated. Titmice use it constantly, especially while moving through the trees with chickadees and nuthatches in winter.
“tsee-day-day-day”
Year round, the call you hear most.
Scold and Alarm
Mid pitch · Series
Fussy scolding notes and, once a predator is spotted, a rougher, more urgent distress call. Titmice often lead the mob when small birds gang up on an owl or a cat, and other species heed these calls. A burst of harsh titmouse scolding is worth walking over to check.
Whenever a predator turns up, in any season.
What to listen for
- Two notes per phrase, high then lower: PEE-ter, PEE-ter, PEE-ter.
- A quick, even run of identical phrases, a pause, then the same run again.
- A harsh, nasal chickadee-like call coming from a mixed flock of small birds.
- Odd whistled chants in mid-morning that match no bird you know: try titmouse.
- Ringing whistles on sunny days in late winter, well before most migrants return.
Birds that sound like the Tufted Titmouse
By ear: The wren's phrase has three rolling parts (teakettle) and a richer, louder tone. A titmouse's phrase is two clean notes, peter, delivered at a steadier pace.
By ear: Listen to the ending: a cardinal's slurred cheer, cheer or birdie, birdie often speeds up into a trill. A titmouse holds the same two-note phrase at one speed all the way through.
By ear: The chickadee's chick-a-dee-dee-dee is cleaner and less nasal than the titmouse's scratchy tsee-day-day. Its song is a thin, high four-note whistle, fee-bee, fee-bay, not a repeated peter.
By ear: Songs are so similar that they are sometimes impossible to tell apart. On average a Black-crested sings a little higher, with shorter phrases. In Texas, location is the practical guide.
When and where you'll hear it
When
Most vocal from February to June, at dawn and during the day.
- Dawn
- Daytime
Where
Year round across the eastern US, from the Atlantic west to the eastern Great Plains and eastern Texas, and north into New England and the Great Lakes states. It has spread north over the past 70 years or so.
- Texas
- The Black-crested Titmouse takes over in central and west Texas, meeting the Tufted in a narrow zone where the two hybridize.
- New England and Great Lakes
- A fairly recent arrival in the north that is now common at feeders, helped along by warmer winters.
- Woods
- Yards
- Cities
Practice the Tufted Titmouse in the app
Practice the “peter-peter-peter” until you can name it without looking. Wings & Whistles plays it in 2 interactive listening lessons, mixed with the birds you’ll hear around it.
How to recognize the Tufted Titmouse by sight
A small gray songbird with a prominent tufted crest on its head. It has large black eyes, a black forehead patch above its short stubby bill, and rusty-orange flanks on its pale belly. It often gives an impression of curiosity with its big eyes and jaunty crest.
Similar-looking species (2)
- Black-crested Titmouse: Occurs in Texas and southwest (formerly considered a Tufted Titmouse subspecies). Has an all-black crest and a pale whitish forehead, compared to Tufted's gray crest with black forehead patch.
- Carolina Chickadee: Much smaller (chickadee is 4-5 inches) and no crest. Chickadees have a bold black cap and bib with white cheeks, versus the titmouse's gray crest and orangey flanks.
Tufted Titmouse sounds FAQ
When does the Tufted Titmouse sing?
The Tufted Titmouse is most vocal from February to June, mostly at dawn and during the day.