Black-capped Chickadee

(Poecile atricapillus)

Conservation Status
Black-capped Chickadee
  IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

     
  NatureServe

N5B, N5N - Secure Breeding and Nonbreeding

SNRB - Unranked Breeding

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
 
Description
 
 

 

 
     
 

Size

 
 

5¾ to 6¾ in length

8 wingspan

 
     
 

Voice

 
   
 

Courtship: Slow, whistled fee-bee

 
     
   
 

Flocking: Quick, whistled chick-a followed by a buzzy dee-dee-dee

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Deciduous and mixed forests, woodland edges, willow thickets, cottonwood groves, urban parks, backyards with bird feeders

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Migration

 
 

 

 
     
 

Nesting

 
 

 

 
     
 

Food

 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common to abundant year-round resident

 
         
 

Maps

 
 

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Class Aves (birds)  
 

Order

Passeriformes (perching birds)  
 

Family

Paridae (tits, chickadees, and titmice)  
 

Genus

Poecile (chickadees and allies)  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

Appalachian black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus practicus)

Columbian black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus fortuitus)

eastern black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus atricapillus)

long-tailed chickadee (Poecile atricapillus septentrionalis)

Newfoundland black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus bartletti)

Oregon chickadee (Poecile atricapillus occidentalis)

pallid black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus nevadensis)

Rocky Mountain black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus garrinus)

Yukon black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus turneri)

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Parus atricapillus

 
       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

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Ramona Abrego

 
    Black-capped Chickadee   Black-capped Chickadee  
           
    Black-capped Chickadee   Black-capped Chickadee  
           
    Black-capped Chickadee      
 

Dan W. Andree

 
    Black-capped Chickadee      
 

Kim Harcey

 
    Black-capped Chickadee      
 

Tom Baker

 
    Black-capped Chickadee   Black-capped Chickadee  
           
    Black-capped Chickadee   Black-capped Chickadee  
 

Bill Reynolds

 
    Black-capped Chickadee      
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
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Camera

 

     
 
Slideshows
 
Black-capped Chickadee
Allen Chartier
  Black-capped Chickadee  
Black-capped Chickadee
JMC Nature Photos
  Black-capped Chickadee  
Black-capped Chickadee
Joshua Mayer
  Black-capped Chickadee  
 
About

Poecile atricapillus

 
Chickadees
Craig A. Mullenbach
  Chickadees  
     

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

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Other Videos
 
  Black-capped Chickadee - March 17, 2013
Don Gagnon
 
   
 
About

Published on Mar 17, 2013

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) perched on Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) branch, Gagnon Wildlife Habitat, Pottersville, Somerset, Massachusetts, Sunday midday, March 17, 2013, 12:20 PM - Canon PowerShot SX260 HS MVI_28030; 23 sec.

   
  Black-capped Chickadee [HD] - SONY HDR AX2000 Wow!
JCVdude
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Aug 26, 2010

Black-capped Chickadee [HD] - SONY HDR AX2000. I love these little birds, a few years ago while walking in the same area a chikadee landed on my hand. The Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a small, common songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is the state bird of both Maine and Massachusetts, and the provincial bird of in Canada.

I love my HDR AX2000!

   
  Panasonic DMC-FZ200 - Mésange à tête noire - Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
Réjean Biron
 
   
 
About

Published on Nov 11, 2012

Image; Réjean Biron
Test du Bridge Panasonic DMC-FZ200, video / Movie a 240 image sec 240 fps .MP4

Mésange à tête noire, ( Chickadee ) ,Boisé-des-Douze, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec

La Mésange à tête noire (Poecile atricapillus) est une espèce de passereau de la famille des paridés. C'est la plus commune des mésanges d'Amérique.

The Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a small, North American songbird.

   
  Black-Capped Chickadee - HD Mini-Documentary
James Knott
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Mar 4, 2009

http://quickdirt.com is my new mountain biking website. Check it out for more great adventures!

Transcript: "This cute, little bird is the black-capped chickadee. It is found in Canada, Alaska and the northern United States and is the state bird of Maine and Massachusetts.

It is generally a permanent resident of this cooler climate and has adapted well. On cold winter nights, these birds reduce their body temperatures by 10 to 12 degrees Celsius to conserve energy.

In the summer, they feed on insects, but in the winter they ADAPT their diet to seeds and berries.

The chickadee is named after its familiar call which is a complex song used to communicate threats from predators and to coordinate movement amongst the group.

It is closely related to the Carolina chickadee its southern cousin - and is virtually indistinguishable. The only way to tell them apart is to listen to the difference in their songs.

If you want to attract chickadees to your bird feeder black oil sunflower seed should do the trick."

   
  Black-Capped Chickadee Calls and Sounds - Fee Bee Call, Chicka Dee Dee Dee Call and a couple others
LesleytheBirdNerd
 
   
 
About

Published on Oct 25, 2013

Note Couldn't upload in HD, video kept failing

An amiable sight to behold at winter backyard feeders, chickadees are a delight to watch as they fly with their happy, bouncy flight back and forth to feeders collecting seeds to eat elsewhere or to hoard away for later feeding. But most delightful of all is hearing their "dee dee dee" call, in the quiet and desolate feeling dead of winter their call stands out and begs to be heard, like a song of promise for bright sunny days to come.

   
       

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this bird.

 
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  Ramona Abrego

Location: Washington and Becker Counties

Black-capped Chickadee  
  Jane Sjoberg
7/15/2018

Location: Hubbard County

Why am I not seeing or hearing Chickadees this summer? They are usually very prevalent in my yard.

 
  Dan W. Andree
2/10/2018

Location: in the woods along the river in Norman Co.

Black-capped Chickadee  
  Kim Harcey
5/9/2017

Location: Cambridge, MN

Black-capped Chickadee  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

Afton State Park

Agassiz Dunes SNA

Avon Hills Forest SNA, North Unit

Badoura Jack Pine Woodland SNA

Baker Park Reserve

Banning State Park

Beaver Creek Valley State Park

Bertram Chain of Lakes Regional Park

Big Stone Lake State Park

Big Woods Heritage Forest WMA

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Brownsville Bluff SNA

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Cannon River Turtle Preserve SNA

Cannon River Wilderness Area

Carley State Park

Carver Highlands WMA, South Unit

Carver Park Reserve

Chamberlain Woods SNA

Charles A. Lindbergh State Park

Cherry Grove Blind Valley SNA

Chimney Rock SNA

Clear Lake SNA

Cleary Lake Regional Park

Clifton E. French Regional Park

Clinton Falls Dwarf Trout Lily SNA

Cottonwood River Prairie SNA

Crosby Farm Regional Park

Crosstown West Park

Crow Wing State Park

Crow-Hassan Park Reserve

Crystal Spring SNA

Day Park and Earley Lake Trail

Des Moines River SNA

Dodge Nature Center

Dry Sand WMA

Edward Velishek Memorial WMA

Elm Creek Park Reserve

Englund Ecotone SNA

Falls Creek SNA

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Fort Ridgely State Park

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Frenchman’s Bluff SNA

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Hampton Woods WMA

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John A. Latsch State Park

John Peter Hoffman Spring Brook Valley WMA

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Keller Regional Park

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Minnesota Valley NWR, Louisville Swamp Unit

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Oxbow Park & Zollman Zoo

Phelps Lake WMA

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Prairie Creek WMA, Koester Prairie Unit

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St. Croix Savanna SNA

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Spring Lake Park Reserve

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Westwood Hills Nature Center

Whitetail Woods Regional Park

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