By Linda Hunt
Black-capped Chickadees delight me with their bright voices and dapper black-and-white heads. They have an energetic presence. Aldo Leopold said of the chickadee: “Everyone laughs at so small a bundle of large enthusiasms.”
Black-capped Chickadees are named for the “cap” of black feathers that covers the top of the bird’s head and extends just below the eyes. Their cheeks and chest are white, their wings are gray with white edges, and their sides are beige. Adult black-capped chickadees are just four to six inches long with a wingspan of six to eight inches.
Chickadees love my backyard. It matches their habitat requirements: mixed deciduous-evergreen forests, willows, birch, and cottonwoods. They like making their nests in the snags of alder and birch trees. Feeders and nest boxes can be used to attract chickadees to backyards. Females build the nest and can fill it with up with five to seven eggs. The male brings her food while she warms the eggs, and both parents take part in raising the young. Last April, chickadees readily moved into a nest box we installed. Their nest was artistically layered with moss and down feathers. I was surprised to find a layer of sand on the bottom. Chicks stay in the nest for 14 to 18 days after hatching. The family then leaves the nest but will stay together until the young chickadees are five to six weeks old. Parents feed their nestlings mostly caterpillars and spiders. Spiders provide taurine, a nutrient that is important for chickadee brain formation. The average lifespan for Black-capped Chickadees is less than two to three years. The oldest chickadee on record was a male that lived for over 11.5 years.
Hawks, owls, shrikes, and cats capture adult chickadees. Nestlings and eggs are more likely to be consumed by tree-climbing mammals. A chickadee’s alarm call sounds just like its name. Chickadees warn their flocks of nearby predators by sounding out “chickadee-dee-dee!” Black-capped Chickadees produce a dazzling array of calls. Adults can make as many as 16 different calls, all with different meanings. The call for which they are named in English – “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” – is far more complex than it sounds, with information encoded in each note. Generally, the more “dees” that ring out, the greater the threat a predator poses. They also sing a highly recognizable “fee-bee” song. They sing more in the spring than in any other time of year.
Like many birds, Black-capped Chickadees are omnivorous. They eat a diet of seeds, berries, insects, invertebrates, and occasionally small portions of carrion. Chickadees also love to eat suet and peanut butter offered at bird feeders. Chickadees have a penchant for storing food and eating it later, so they usually won’t stick around at a feeder for long. Chickadees are built for survival. These birds place food items in several hidden locations. Chickadees must have excellent memories to keep track of their food. They can remember for up to 24 days. To remember food cache locations – chickadees replace old neurons with new ones. This wipes out old memories and gives the birds more space to store new information. A chickadee’s hippocampus – the part of its brain responsible for spatial memory – is larger in chickadees that live in places with colder, harsher weather such as Montana. The hippocampus shrinks in the spring when food is easily available and grows again when it’s time to survive the winter. On the coldest nights, they can decrease their body temperature from 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit to 82 degrees Fahrenheit to conserve energy. Very few other birds can replicate this feat.
The Black-capped Chickadee, with its charming personality and distinctive call, is a beloved bird. Known for its sociable nature and adaptability, this small bird embodies community and resilience.
References available upon request.
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