Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Poecile rufescens

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family PARIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

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.

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.

Description

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

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

• Back unstreaked.
• Underparts whitish.
• Wings and tail brownish gray.
• Flanks bright rufous-chestnut to grayish.
• Upper wing feathers with white edging.
• Tail rather long.
• Bill black.
• Legs and feet gray.
• Eyes dark brown.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Immature

Like adult.

Similar Species

Only chickadee with a chestnut back and rump.

Sound

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

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident along Pacific Coast from southern Alaska southward to southern California. Also in mountains from southeastern British Columbia southward to northern Idaho and eastern Oregon.

Habitat

Dense coniferous forest and adjacent woodlands.

Food

Insects, spiders, and seeds.

Behavior

Foraging

Forages high in trees. Gleans insects from foliage and tree bark, often hanging upside down to do so. Holds food items against branch under feet to peck them. Readily uses bird feeders.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nest in holes, typically in dead trees or rotten branches. Will use nest boxes. Nest within hole made of coarse materials such as moss and strips of bark, especially cedar. Lined with fur.

Egg Description

White with some reddish spots.

Clutch Size

Usually 6-7 eggs. Range: 1-11.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless with a few tufts of down.

Conservation Status

Populations appear stable throughout most of range.

Other Names

Mésange à dos marron (French)

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.