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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
come to your
chickadee bird houses.
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.
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