Black-capped Chickadee
Poecile atricapillus
The Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a common tits, chickadees, and titmice found in 4 countries, weighing about 11 g. The black-capped chickadee is a small, nonmigratory, North American passerine bird that lives in deciduous and mixed forests.
About the Black-capped Chickadee
The black-capped chickadee is a small, nonmigratory, North American passerine bird that lives in deciduous and mixed forests. It is a member of the Paridae family, also known as tits. It has a distinct black cap on its head, a black bib underneath, and white cheeks. It has a white belly, buff sides, and grey wings, back, and tail. The bird is well known for its vocalizations, including its fee-bee song and its chick-a-dee-dee-dee call, from which it derives its name.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The black-capped chickadee has a black cap and "bib" with white cheeks. Its underparts are white with buff-coloured flanks. Its back is unstreaked and greenish grey, and the tail and wings are slate grey. It has a black beak and legs, and dark brown irises. Males and females are generally similar, although males have a larger bib. They can also be distinguished based on a combination of weight and tail length. Tarsus length does not significantly differentiate sexes. Males have a wing length of 63.5–67.5 mm (2.50–2.66 in), a tail length of 58–63 mm (2.3–2.5 in), a bill length of 8–9.5 mm (0. Voice: The vocalizations of the black-capped chickadee are highly complex, with 16 distinct types of vocalizations being used to convey an array of information. These vocalizations are likely an evolutionary adaptation to their habitat; they live and feed in dense vegetation, and even when the flock is close together, individual birds tend to be out of each other's visual range.
What the Black-capped Chickadee sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in France.
When to see it
The Black-capped Chickadee can be seen all year round, with peak activity in May. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Watch the Black-capped Chickadee on live cams
Browse all 118 bird cams worldwide, live and seasonal, by region and species.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Black-capped Chickadee?
- The black-capped chickadee has a black cap and "bib" with white cheeks. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Black-capped Chickadee?
- The Black-capped Chickadee is a tiny sized bird weighing about 11 g.
- Where can you see a Black-capped Chickadee?
- The Black-capped Chickadee occurs in 4 countries, including the United States, Canada and St. Pierre & Miquelon.
- What does a Black-capped Chickadee sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Black-capped Chickadee on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Black-capped Chickadee?
- The Black-capped Chickadee is most easily confused with the Carolina Chickadee, the Chestnut-backed Chickadee and the Mountain Chickadee.
- Is the Black-capped Chickadee endangered?
- The Black-capped Chickadee is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Black-capped Chickadee for real
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