Black-capped Chickadee
The black-capped chickadee is a common songbird found throughout Colorado.
About This Species
The chickadee's call is a chick-a-de-dee-dee or dee-dee-dee. They also produce a whistled fee-bee-ee, fee-bee, or com-ing with a high first note followed by descending notes. They will respond to imitated calls. Because of their distinctive call, they can sometimes be found in mixed-species flocks, alerting other birds to the presence of danger. Black-capped chickadees are also known as back-capped tit, black-capped titmouse, common chickadee, long-tailed chickadee, Oregon chickadee and Yukon chickadee.
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Physical Characteristics
Males, females and juveniles are similar in appearance. They have a light gray tail and back, a white belly and cheeks, and a black "cap", chin and throat. Their bill, legs and feet are dark or black, and they have white and black streaks on their buff-colored wings. They reach a length of 4.75 to 5.75 inches and have a wingspread of 7.5 to 8.5 inches. They weigh about 0.33 of an ounce.
Range
Black-capped chickadees are found throughout the northern two-thirds of North America. They winter throughout their range, and there are usually no formal, large-scale migrations. Black-capped chickadees are found throughout Colorado. Highest concentrations are at mountain elevations from 5,000 to 9,000 feet, especially in the northwestern quarter of the state. Smaller concentrations exist in the Platte and Republican drainages where the rivers cross into Nebraska.
Habitat
They inhabit mixed woodlands, coniferous and deciduous forests, forest edges, thickets, orchards, and urban areas. Because they excavate their own nest cavities, they prefer old aspens or old cottonwoods with a firm outer shell and rotten inner wood. In the fall, mountain nesting birds move to lower elevations in riparian corridors, city parks and backyards where they readily come to feeders. They are least likely to be found on the high plains or in sagebrush flats. During the winter, they can lower their body temperature at night and enter a state of controlled hypothermia. They slow the blood flowing to the parts of their body they do not use while sleeping, and this helps them save much-needed energy.
Diet
Their diet consists of a variety of foods including insect eggs, ants, beetles, aphids, millipedes, snails, and other small animals. They will also eat seeds of conifers, goldenrod, ragweed, wild fruit, and visit winter feeders. They glean their prey from foliage and tree bark, and, during the winter, store food in catches for later use.
Reproduction
Pair formation occurs in the fall when new flocks are gathering. They are monogamous and stay together for several years. Nests are excavated in soft decayed wood of dead trees or branch stubs one to 10 feet above the ground. The female will bring in plant fibers, hairs, wool, mosses, feathers, and insect cocoons to line the nest. She will lay five to 10 white eggs that are dotted with brown and incubate them for 11 to13 days. She broods the nestlings a few days after they hatch and continues to do so until they are about 12 days old. The male is solely responsible for feeding the young until they fledge, at about 16 days. Both parents will feed the young up to four weeks after they leave the nest. Black-capped chickadees only have one brood per season, but they will attempt to re-nest if the first one fails.