Bacolophus bicolor

Stebbins Nature Sanctuary, Longmeadow, Massachusetts


This is one of the most common visitors to wintertime feeders, where it prefers sunflower seed. It grabs the seed, flits to a nearby branch, and opens it by jackhammer bill pulses. With its distinctive crest and grey-mouse suit, it is a handsome bird and a tame one too. One of my great bird-interaction experiences is to have a Tufted Titmous alight on my hand to select a black-oil sunflower seed.