has a wingspan of
6 inches and weighs only half an ounce. It has a short bill and
white face. Their crown and throat are black, upperparts are
pale gray, they have white edging on their wings and both male
and female look the same.
The Carolina Chickadee is 4 inches long, has a wingspan of 6
inches and weighs only 12 grams. It has a small short bill and
white cheeks. They have a black cap and bib, upperparts are gray
and both male and female look the same. The Carolina Chickadees
live in the USA from New Jersey west to southern Kansas and
south to Florida and Texas. They are permanent residents and
don’t move south even during severe winter weather.
Carolina chickadees can lower their body
temperatures and induce an intentional state of hypothermia
called torpor. They do this so they can conserve energy during
the extremely cold winters. A Carolina Chickadee can spend up to
fifteen hours at a time in torpor, during this time they should
not be picked up and handled because the stress of being held
may cause their death.
The Black-Capped Chickadee and the Carolina Chickadee are so
similar that where their living ranges overlap they mate with
each other and create a hybrid chickadee. One of the differences
between the Black-Capped Chickadee and the Carolina Chickadee is
their song. The Black-Capped Chickadee sings a 2-note song and
the Carolina Chickadee sings a 4-note song. The Hybrid Mix of
those two Chickadees sings a 3-note song.
The Mountain and Chestnut-Backed Chickadees will also enjoy
being fed from a Chickadee Feeder.
The Mountain
Chickadee lives from the southern Yukon through southern
California, Arizona and New Mexico. It is 6 inches long and
weighs 8-14 grams. The Mountain Chickadee has a short bill,
black cap and bib and white cheeks and eye-stripe.
The Chestnut Chickadee is the smallest chickadee being only 4
inches long and weighing just 7 grams. The Chestnut Chickadee
has a short bill, brownish cap, black bib and white cheeks. He
has a deep chestnut back giving him his name.
The Chestnut
Chickadee lives along the Pacific coast from southern Alaska to
southern California and north into Idaho and Oregon.
