Im not Fat, Im Fluffy!, photo by Spring Noel.

All About Birds says that the Tufted Titmouse is common in eastern deciduous forests and a frequent visitor to feeders. They eat mostly insects in the summer but aren’t above seeds, nuts, and berries and (in the case of this fellow) cheesecake and jelly donuts. Fun facts:

 
• Experiments with Tufted Titmice indicate they always choose the largest seeds they can when foraging. (see above)
• Tufted Titmice hoard food in fall and winter, a behavior they share with many of their relatives, including the chickadees and tits. Titmice take advantage of a bird feeder’s bounty by storing many of the seeds they get. Usually, the storage sites are within 130 feet of the feeder. The birds take only one seed per trip and usually shell the seeds before hiding them.
• Tufted Titmice nest in tree holes (and nest boxes), but they can’t excavate their own nest cavities. Instead, they use natural holes and cavities left by woodpeckers.
• Tufted Titmice often line the inner cup of their nest with hair, sometimes plucked directly from living animals. The list of hair types identified from old nests includes raccoons, opossums, mice, woodchucks, squirrels, rabbits, livestock, pets, and even humans.
• The oldest known wild Tufted Titmouse lived to be 13 years 3 months old.

 

Check out Birding in Michigan’s Ode to the Tufted Titmouse and see more birds on Michigan in Pictures.

See this bigger in Spring’s Birds slideshow.