Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
(Parus atricapillus)
Photo: S. Schott
Size : 4.5 inches long
Description : Male - Black cap and bib. White cheek patches; whitish underside with gray wings
Female - Like male. Both look alike.
Preferred Habitat: Mixed and deciduous woods, wood edges, gardens, towns
Preferred food : Seeds, esp. sunflower, squash, and pumpkin, fruit, insects, suet, peanut butter
Breeding Range : Newfoundland west to Alaska, south to Northern California,
southeast to northern New Mexico, northeast to New Jersey;
mountains south to Georgia
Winter Range : Permanent resident in breeding range.
Preferred nesting: Cavity in dead tree or stump, birdhouse
Interesting Facts: Energetic, quick, non-stop motion.
Most say 'chick-a-dee'.
Inquisitive and trusting, they are often the first visitors to a new feeder.
The 'fee-bee' song of the male announces his breeding territory of about half
to 10 acres, which he defends aggressively, with short chases of the intruder.
They breed from March to July, in isolated pairs.
The main courtship behavior is wing-fluttering, which takes place from March to June.
The pair bill-touches and feeds each other.
Both birds share in the excavation of the nest, but the female actually builds the nest,
using moss, Cinnamon ferns, hair, feathers, cocoons, and vegetable fiber.
The nest is usually 4 - 15 feet from the ground.
Sometimes, for unknown reasons, they abandon the nest and build a new one.
The female broods the young for the first few days, during which time the male feeds her.
Fledglings follow parents for the first few weeks, but the parents stop feeding them
after about 10 days.
Birds feeding together may be friends or mates.