Bridled Titmouse

I'd never heard of a bridled titmouse prior to going to southeastern Arizona, but once I saw a photo of one before going, it became a much wanted photo. My first stop was at Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon. When I first pulled up I saw a small white bird creeping along some branches in a tree on the side of the road, and thinking it was a titmouse, I quickly dispatched a bunch of photos trying to capture its likeness.  Unfortunately, I determined it was a white-breasted nuthatch and there were also a lot of them at the feeders. However, I did see a couple of bridled titmouses, but they quickly flew in and moved about in such a hurry that I could not get any decent photos. I quickly determined this was not going to be an easy photo and I wasted lots of shots trying to capture it. I finally got my best photos at Ramsey Canyon, in the Huachuca Mountains. 

After multiple times spent at the feeders at Santa Rita Lodge, these were the best photos I got. The gray patch on the black pointed crown is spectacular. It reminds me of a flame. 

The pointed crest from behind.

Jake and I spent about 30 minutes at the feeders at Madera Kuba B&B, a little bit up-canyon from Santa Rita Lodge. This titmouse kept flitting in and out and I had a dickens of a time getting photos. This one was the best I got. 

This is my favorite of my photos, taken at Ramsey Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains. There are four subspecies and this is ssp. phillipsi, found in southeastern Arizona, south of the Gila River, south to western Chihuahua and southern Sonora. It is grayish olive, the rump a greenish yellow and the belly a washed yellow. 

Illustration from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World. It catches a little bit of New Mexico and goes deeper into Arizona than some, but it is still primarily a Mexican bird.