Birds of the Pfeiffer Nature Center

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Black-capped Chickadee  Poecile atricapillus

              (PEE-sil-ay  ay-trih-cap-ILL-us)

      In older field guides,  the genus of  Black-capped Chickadees is Parus (PAY-rus) and the genus includes Titmice as well.  Parus is the ancient Latin name for a Titmouse.  In 1995, it was decided that Chickadees were sufficiently different from Titmice to require their own genus.  Chickadees remain in the family Paridae (PAY-rih-dee) derived from the Latin for Titmouse, but they are now in the genus Poecile, which means ìvaricolored.î  The species name is Latin for ìblack-capped,î from  atri which means ìblackî and cappillus means ìhairî or ìcrown.î  Its common name is based on its vocalization ìchick-a-dee-dee-dee..î  These well-known small birds have black caps and black bibs which frame white cheeks.  Their backs are gray and undersides are light with a buff wash on the sides.

      Chickadees eat insects and larvae which they glean from twigs and leaves or underneath the bark of trees.  They sometimes scavenge the fat of dead animals.  They also eat Hemlock and other seeds in addition to taking sunflower seeds and suet provided at feeders.

       Black-capped Chickadees will nest in a man-made nesting box as we discuss in the related story, but there is a more typical former nest site at Station #10 of the Interpretive Trail.  As seen at this nest site, a nesting pair hollowed out the rotten interior of a dead American Beech tree snag, making a perfectly round entrance hole.  Both male and female excavate the hole and carry away the wood chips to prevent detection of the nest site.  As with other Chickadees, the pair that nested here are not likely to use this nest again, though another species may.  Normally, 6-8 eggs are laid sometime between May and July.  The female incubates them alone for about 12 days and they usually fledge about 16 days after hatching. The male helps feed them before they fledge.  After fledging, the juveniles eventually disperse and each will join other juveniles and older birds in hierarchical flocks comprising a dominant male and female along with various subordinate pairs (but not their parents) and other unmated birds.

      Black-capped Chickadees are year-round residents in the Northeast.  Their adaptations for winter survival are truly amazing. To remain active, they must maintain an internal temperature of 107 degrees F during  the coldest days and  they must survive winter nights without eating.

    At the Nature Center and throughout the Northeast, Black-capped Chickadees will continually come to a feeder for sunflower seeds and return to a perch to shell them.  They eat some of these, but  they store many of them, hiding thousands of hemlock, sunflower, and other seeds in furrows in the bark of trees or in cavities.  Days later, they are able to retrieve their cache of seeds, as necessary, with what appears to be almost total recall.

     To conserve body heat they can fluff their feathers to trap insulating air and, at night, they either roost individually in small cavities barely larger than their bodies or roost close together in an evergreen tree whose boughs provide shelter from the elements.  And to survive the night without eating, their body temperature while roosting drops in a controlled manner so that they go into a torpor, hibernating until daylight when they can forage again.

By Michael J. DeSha

To check out some nesting Black-capped Chickadees

 at the Pfeiffer Nature Center, go to the Bluebird Nest Box Page

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