Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

About the photographs

About the map

Play sound from this species

Menu

1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

The common chickadee of the Pacific Coast, the Chestnut-backed Chickadee is the smallest member of its family in America. It lacks a whistled song, but makes up for this deficiency by the complexity of its "chick-a-dee" calls.

Description

• Small, short-billed bird.
• Brownish black cap.
• Black bib.
• White cheeks.
• Back deep rufous-chestnut.

• Size: 10-12 cm (4-5 in)
• Wingspan: 19 cm (7 in)
• Weight: 7-12 g (0.25-0.42 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Sound

Lacks a whistled song; uses repeated gargle or clicking notes instead. Call a high, thin, scratchy "chick-a-dee."

Conservation Status

Populations appear stable throughout most of range.

Other Names

Mésange à dos marron (French)

Cool Facts

• The Chestnut-backed Chickadee uses lots of fur in making its nest, with fur or hair accounting for up to half of all the material in the hole. The hair from rabbits, coyote, and deer is most common, but hair from skunks, cats, horses, or cows will be used as well. The adults make a layer of fur about 1 cm (0.4 in) thick that they use to cover the eggs when they leave the nest.

• Hole-nesting birds tend to have higher nest success rates than open-cup nesters, but that doesn't mean that they are immune to predation. Chestnut-backed Chickadee nests get attacked by a number of predators, including mice, squirrels, weasels, snakes, and even black bears.

• The Chestnut-backed Chickadee is not truly migratory, but it does make some seasonal movements. In late summer some birds move to higher elevations up mountains. They move back to lower elevations when winter starts. In some winters, some chickadees will make local movements out of areas with deep snow.

Sources used to construct this page:

Dahlsten, D. L., L. A. Brennan, D. A. McCallum, and S. L. L. Gaunt. 2002. Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens). In The Birds of North America, No. 689 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.