Birds Posters
Chickadees
These birds are called either chickadees (onomatopoeic, derived from their distinctive "chick-a dee dee dee" alarm call) or "titmice".
in North America, and just "tits" in the rest of the English-speaking world.
These birds are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills. Some have crests. They range in length from 10 to 22 centimetres.
They are adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects.
Carolina Chickadees are often found foraging in mixed-species flocks with their relative the Tufted Titmouse.
Hybridization sometimes occurs with the Blacked-capped Chickadee where the species populations overlap along the eastern section of their ranges.
The Carolina Chickadee will regularly visit bird feeders but prefers to take the food to a nearby branch to eat.
Chickadees have a white cheek and underparts. The wings and tail are a lighter grey, while the sides and flanks are tinged buffy.
Poecile carolinensis is similar in characteristics in both juvenile and adult with juveniles being slightly duller in color.
Females are slightly smaller than males. Weight ranges from 9 to 12 grams.
The Chestnut backed Chickadee is a cavity nester and will line their nests with the fur of deer, rabbits and coyotes.
They also make a blanket of fur to cover the eggs when they leave the nest.
They store food in the fall and consume it in winter.
The Boreal Chickadee is one of the few birds living completely within the northern boreal forests of Canada and the United States.
It prefers dense conifer stands, particularly black spruce and balsam fir.
The Gray-Headed Chickadee is also known as the Siberian Tit.
It is the only member of the family Paridae common to the Old and New Worlds, occurring from Norway eastward across Eurasia into Alaska and arctic Canada.
Its vocalizations are remarkably complex and may hold a key to understanding the origin of song in songbirds.
The Mountain Chickadee is one of the most common birds of the Western montane coniferous forests.
The nest cup of a Mountain Chickadee is molded in fur and then plugged with looser fur.
The unincubated eggs are covered with the fur plug while the female is not in the nest.
The species name honors naturalist William Gambel.