Tufted Titmouse Takeover: NYC Is For The Birds

NEW YORK CITY — Eyes up here, New Yorkers — the Tufted Titmouse is out and about.

An onslaught of tiny, crested birds with big voices has hit New York this season with a flock of sightings on city balconies, fire escapes and feeders, according to an apt source of avian news: Twitter.

"Tufted TITMICE have taken over NYC, and they're acting like it's a deciduous forest in upstate NY or even Connecticut," the Wild Bird Fund said Tuesday in a tweet. No pun intended.

Tufted Titmice used to be a rare sight in New York City before 1950, according to Brooklyn Botanic Garden's website.

But the climate change and a boom in home feeders allowed the Tufted Titmouse to expand its range, the website states. Now, it's a year-round resident of all five boroughs and is a common sight around feeders.

"A bird once hardly ever seen on Long Island is now all over the place," the website states.

The Tufted Titmouse travels and nests in pairs all year, according to the National Audubon Society.