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Black-Capped Chickadee | |
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The black-capped chickadee is 5.25 inches (13 centimeters) long and has a distinctive black cap and bib, contrasted with white cheeks. Its body is gray-brown above and yellowish below. The wings and the tail are black. The black-capped has white edges on the wing feathers which distinguish it from the Carolina chickadee. The black-capped chickadee is also slightly larger and has a longer tail.
The black-capped chickadee can be found in the Northern half of the United States and the Southern half of Canada. Its range is extended in Western Canada up into Alaska. The Carolina chickadee is a resident of the Southeastern United States.
Chickadees feed primarily on small insects found among twigs and leaves. They enjoy caterpillars, spiders, ants, snails, aphids and the eggs of several insects. When insects are not as prevalent, they will eat seeds and berries.
Studies at feeding stations reveal that chickadees prefer whole sunflower seeds (black oil and striped), sunflower hearts and nuts, especially peanuts.
The black-capped chickadee has more than a dozen calls or sounds but three of them are most common. The first is its trade mark “chickadeedeedee” which it will use when it is separated from its flock or disturbed in some way. The second call is a soft, high, short call that sounds like “tseet.” They seem to use this call to keep each other located. Finally, the “feebee” call, which is a two note call distinctive for the chickadee, is used by males to stake out a territory and to attract mates. The first note “fee” is higher in pitch than the “bee”.
Carolina chickadees can be distinguished from their cousins to the north by their “feebee’ call, which is four notes long, and sounds like “feebee feebay.”
The nesting season lasts from April through July, with mating pairs forming in early spring. They raise only one brood with the female laying 6 to 8 white, brown-spotted eggs. Both parents will sit on the eggs with incubation lasting from 11 to 13 days. Fledging, where the young leave the nest, occurs in 14 to 18 days.
Courtship behavior may sometimes be noticed near feeding stations. The female will begin to quiver her wings, lean forward, and give a call like “teeship teeship”. The male responds by bringing her food and placing it in her beak.
Black-capped chickadees prefer to nest in holes excavated in rotten wood. They are also frequent users of nest boxes. They line the nest with leaves, moss, hair, feathers and fine plant material.
Providing the chickadee’s favorite seeds (see diet) in a platform, hopper style or other hanging feeder as well as providing water is a good start to attracting chickadees to your yard. Also consider their preference for “woodsy” habitat, and need for dead trees for nesting and foraging. Using nesting boxes can also help.
Chickadees are one of the most common feeder birds and are very enjoyable to watch. They have one of the most complex social structures of any feeder bird. You can watch the members of a flock visit your feeder in a specific order determined by the hierarchy of the flock. Chickadees are also very out-going feeder birds and will eat seeds from your hand if you are patient and stay still long enough.
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