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A social songbird with an echoing voice has been named the official bird of Windsor.

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By popular demand, the tufted titmouse will adorn the Windsor Essex Pelee Island birding guide cover and serve as the citys feathered representative.

The tufted titmouse is a unique songbird with strong ties to oak woodland and oak savanna, said James Chacko, the citys executive director of parks and facilities. As such, Windsor is one of the very few places in Canada that this very social and vocal bird can call home. In fact, in Canada, this bird is only found in southern Ontario.

As part of the Best of Windsor-Essex Awards, the city partnered with Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island to choose Windsors official city bird. Almost 8,000 people voted for the tufted titmouse.

During the nomination period, residents voted on various birds for consideration. The top five moved on to the final voting round. They included the tufted titmouse, peregrine falcon, common nighthawk, northern cardinal, and black-capped chickadee.

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James Chacko, executive director of parks and facilities with the City of Windsor, shows off the official city bird for Windsor, the tufted titmouse, at the Ojibway Prairie Complex on Wednesday. Photo by TAYLOR CAMPBELL /WINDSOR STAR

The online voting period ran from Feb. 6 to 26.

Our city is an exceptional place for birds, said Suzanne Friemann, executive director of the Pelee Island Bird Observatory.

More birds pass over Windsor than almost anywhere in North America. We are a true hotspot for migration.

Last year, Windsor earned Nature Canadas Bird Friendly City designation. Windsor was the 16th city in Canada to be certified.

At the time, Nature Canada said Windsor had implemented several bird-friendly policies and actions to help birds thrive, including a collaborative approach to mitigate bird mortality from cats; developing and implementing strategies to protect natural features, biodiversity, and habitats; and presenting community-led educational campaigns to raise awareness about threats to birds and bird biodiversity protection.

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Though seen as a niche market, our region is a renowned birding hub for migration, said Jason Toner, director of marketing and communications for Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island. Things like the official bird of Windsor, or being named as the warbler capital of Canada, are what makes us stand out from the flock.

The tufted titmouse makes its nest natural holes and cavities left by woodpeckers. In Windsor, they can be found in places like Optimist Memorial Park and the Ojibway Prairie Complex, where they have been known to eat seeds from the hands of visitors.

Windsor has more than 200 parks, more than 170 kilometres of multi-use trails, and 2,500 acres of greenspace.

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Tufted titmouse named Windsor's official bird - Windsor Star