Black-Capped Chickadee

## Description

The black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus ) is a small, nonmigratory, North American songbird that lives in deciduous and mixed forests. It is a passerine bird in the tit family, the Paridae. It is the state bird of Massachusetts and Maine in the United States, and the provincial bird of New Brunswick in Canada. It is well known for its ability to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (sometimes feeding from the hand).

## Appearance

This is a “cute” bird because of its oversized round head atop a tiny body, and its curiosity about everything, humans included. It has a black cap and bib, its cheeks are white, and its back, wings, and tail are gray, its undersides being whitish with buffy sides, giving it a distinctive look. Little flocks of these birds are active in the winter woods, flying from tree to tree, often in the company of other birds such as nuthatches, creepers, and kinglets, sounding out their cheery chick-a-dee call. They become well known to people, due to their habit of investigating everything in their home territory, often being the first to discover bird feeders.

## Distribution

Black-capped chickadees live in North America in Alaska, the southern part of Canada, and the northernmost two-thirds of the US. They do not migrate except when food is scarce. These birds prefer deciduous woodlands, cottonwood groves, open woods and parks, and willow thickets. Most commonly they are seen near the edges of wooded areas and are frequent visitors to backyard feeders. They nest in holes, usually in stumps or dead trees, being attracted to habitats that have suitable locations for nests. During winter, small flocks of them can be seen in dense conifer forests.

## Behavior

Black-capped chickadees often are in small flocks, foraging at feeders or in woodlands. During the day they are very active, often foraging upside-down or gleaning, hovering, and hawking. They can be seen creeping up a tree and hopping along trunks. Their hierarchy within the flock consists of the male bird above the female, and old above young. Dominant individuals mate with each other and can access the best resources, usually affording them better nesting success than the subordinate individuals. These birds migrate for short distances southwards when seed crops are poor or fail. At such times, flocks are highly visible in the daytime, and in winter they often form larger flocks with nuthatches, warblers, woodpeckers, and other birds, and will defend their feeding territory from other flocks. These flocks start to break up in late winter, and males become intolerant of other members. Pairs then separate from the flock in order to nest.

## Diet

Black-capped chickadees are carnivores (insectivores). They eat insects, caterpillars, spiders, and snails. In winter, they eat seeds and berries.

## Reproduction

Black-capped chickadees are monogamous and form pairs that remain together for years. Pairs will establish and defend territory, and remain on or near it for the remainder of their lives. Their display of courtship involves wing-shivering, soft calls, and the male giving food to the female. This species breeds from April to early August. They often locate their cup-shaped nest in cavities that they excavate themselves. They also nest in woodpecker holes, nest boxes, or natural cavities. Excavation takes up to one week, then the female builds the nest, usually in a few days or a couple of weeks. During this time she is fed by her mate. She lays between 6 and 8 small non-glossy eggs, varying in color. Incubation is done by the female for around 12 to 13 days, and she is fed by the male. On hatching, the chicks are brooded and fed by the female, and at 14 to 18 days old they fledge. The fledglings and parents then leave the site of the nest but will travel in a group, the parents continuing to feed their young until they are 5 to 6 weeks old and reach independence.

## Population

### Population threats

The Black-capped chickadee is currently not regarded as a threatened species. However, the removal of dead trees in great numbers due to excessive forest management can have a negative impact on this species by reducing available suitable natural nesting sites.

### Population number

According to the All About Birds resource, the total breeding population of the Black-capped chickadee is 41 million individuals, 54% of these living in Canada, with 46% in the U.S. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and their numbers today are increasing.

### Ecological niche

As a cavity-nesting bird that excavates a new nest each season, a Black-capped chickadee creates a habitat for other species in its locality that use cavities. Many cavity-nesting species cannot create cavities themselves and so are limited to breeding when others have abandoned their nest. Black-capped chickadees sometimes eat berries and seeds and are likely contributors to local seed distribution.

## Fun Facts for Kids

A Black-capped chickadee often hides berries and seeds under leaves or in the crevices of bark and is able to remember these locations for as long as a month.

Being an adaptation to changing social flocks and changes in the environment, Black-capped chickadees allow brain cells with old information to die off in the autumn, then replace them with new brain cells.

Chickadee calls are language-like and complex, communicating information about the identity and recognition of flocks, and also contact calls and predator alarms. The more “dee” notes sounded in the call, the greater the level of threat. When they hear the notes of the alarm call “dee” or “see”, these birds freeze in position until the “chickadee-dee” call, meaning “all clear” is sounded.

A group of chickadees is known as a "banditry" or a "dissimulation" of chickadees.

Most of the birds that join up with chickadee flocks will respond to the chickadee alarm calls, even if their own species does not have an alarm call that is similar.

## References

https://animalia.bio/black-capped-chickadee