Isn't she precious? (I can identify that she is female by her eye color!) Bushtits are TINY! And they travel in large groups - it's so awesome to be a spectator as a group goes by. Here's an excerpt from birdnote.org:
Weighing about as much as four paperclips, Bushtits are smaller than many hummingbirds. And they take full advantage of their diminutive size. While larger insect-eaters forage on the upper surfaces of leaves, Bushtits hang beneath them, plucking all the tiny insects and spiders hiding out of sight. Where they live in Western suburbia, a flock of Bushtits can help rid a garden of harmful aphids and scale insects. Shun the pesticides and let these guys do the work!
Yes Yes Yes to all that is written here! We get them in clusters now and then, and between them anbd my lizards, I think I have a pretty healthy (if not a pristine : D) garden! Gotta leave some underbrush for the lizards!
