Black-capped Chickadee
Poecile atricapillus
Summary 2
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 Paridae. It is the state bird of Massachusetts and of Maine in the United States, and the provincial bird of New Brunswick in Canada. It is well known for its capability to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights as well as its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (sometimes feeding from the hand).
State and provincial bird 3
The black-capped chickadee is the state bird of Massachusetts and the provincial bird of New Brunswick. In 2014, the black-capped chickadee was named the official bird of Vancouver for the year of 2015.
Movements 3
These birds are permanent residents, but sometimes they move south within their range, and even outside of it, in the fall or winter.
During the winter, chickadees often flock together. Many other species of birds – including titmice, nuthatches, and warblers – can often be found foraging in these flocks. Mixed flocks stay together because the chickadees call out whenever they find a good source of food. This calling-out forms cohesion for the group, allowing the other birds to find food more efficiently. When flocking, black-capped chickadees soon establish a rigid social hierarchy. In such hierarchies, males usually rank over females, and older birds over juveniles.
Black-capped chickadees sleep in thick vegetation or in cavities, usually singly, though there have been suggestions that they may occasionally roost clumped together. The sleeping posture is with the beak tucked under the scapular (shoulder) feathers.
Their flight is slightly undulating with rapid wing beats. Flight speed is about 20 km/h (12 mph).
Metabolism 3
On cold winter nights, these birds can reduce their body temperature by as much as 10 to 12 °C (from their normal temperature of about 42 °C) to conserve energy. Such a capacity for torpor is not very common in birds. Other bird species capable of torpor include the common swiftApus apus, the common poor-willPhalaenoptilus nuttallii, the lesser nighthawkChordeiles acutipennis, and various species of hummingbirds.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Bill MacIndewar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Bill MacIndewar
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poecile_atricapillus
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-capped_chickadee
