Black-capped Chickadee
Poecile atricapillus
Summary 6
The black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a small, nonmigratory, North American songbird that lives in deciduous and mixed forests. It is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is the state bird of both Maine and Massachusetts in the United States, and the provincial bird of New Brunswick in Canada. It is well known for its capacity to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights as well as its good spatial memory to...
Physical description 7
Black-capped chickadees have short plump bodies, a solid black cap and bib, and white cheeks. They are a small bird weighing only 11 g and measuring 13.3 cm in length. Their wingspans measure 20.3 cm in flight. Their backs and wings are dark greenish-gray, with some streaks of white and black adorning the wing feathers. Their bellies are white with a light-reddish color on the flanks. They have small, pointed black beaks and dark legs. Male and female chickadees are identical.
Young black-capped chickadees resemble adults, but have brighter colors with more reddish coloration on the flanks.
Average mass: 11 g.
Average length: 13.3 cm.
Average wingspan: 20.3 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Average mass: 10.4 g.
Average basal metabolic rate: 0.252 W.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Wikimedia Commons, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Poecile-atricapilla-001.jpg/460px-Poecile-atricapilla-001.jpg
- (c) Marv Elliott, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Marv Elliott
- (c) Zac Cota, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Zac Cota
- (c) Jeff Whitlock, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://s.yimg.com/pw/images/en-us/photo_unavailable_l.png
- (c) L Pittman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by L Pittman
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poecile_atricapillus
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/25066243
