titmouse

American  

[tit-mous] / ˈtɪtˌmaʊs /

noun

• titmice
  plural

1. any of numerous, widely distributed, small songbirds of the family Paridae, especially of the genus Parus, having soft, thick plumage and a short, stout, conical bill.

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titmouse British  

/ ˈtɪtˌmaʊs /

noun

1. (usually plural) any small active songbird of the family Paridae, esp those of the genus Parus See tit 1

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• titmice
  plural

Etymology

Origin of titmouse

1275–1325; Middle English tit ( e ) mose ( see tit ¹); mose, Old English māse titmouse; cognate with German Meise titmouse, Old Norse meis- in meisingr kind of bird; modern mouse by folk etymology

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

titmouse titmice

They concluded that in agricultural areas, species of greater conservation concern, like the oak titmouse, would see worse outcomes than species of lower concern, like the house sparrow.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2023

“I am happy when I watch a tufted titmouse, nuthatch or any other bird fly to one of my feeders and chow down on a big fat nut or seed,” wrote Donna McDowell of Gaithersburg.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 14, 2023

In front of the lodge, more than a dozen feeders were filled with bridled titmouse, cartoonish acorn woodpeckers, thick-billed, black-headed grosbeaks and gregarious pine siskins.

From New York Times ● Jun. 15, 2021

"I discovered there's an oak titmouse nesting on my back patio," she says.

From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2020

Between breaths, she said, “I hope you’re not letting what Enoch said bother you. The rest of us believe in you, Jacob. Enoch can be a wrinkle-hearted old titmouse, especially when he’s feeling jealous.”

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs

Soon, my feeder feed was filling with black-capped chickadees, dark-eyed juncos and tufted titmice from 2,000 miles away.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2023

A male and a female goldfinch, white-breasted nuthatches, slate-colored juncos, chickadees and tufted titmice were just some we could name.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2023

Populations of American crows, tufted titmice, gray catbirds and brown thrashers dropped below normal during the cicada emergence year—and then increased the following year, after which they stabilized.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 9, 2021

I thought of getting one of those plastic owls and sticking it outside, but I realized it might scare away the birds we do like to attract: the cardinals, titmice, finches and wrens.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 19, 2019

As they walked through the winding paths of the park the trees shed their golden leaves upon the coffin and the titmice in the brushwood chanted the dirge.

From Black Diamonds by Mór Jókai