The Amazing Chickadee
By Jim D'Angelo

The black-capped chickadee, (Parus atricapillus) is probably the bird that I see the most during my travels through the woods. Whether it’s during summer walks, fall hikes, at the bird feeder in winter or when I'm just out and about, the chickadee always seems to be close at hand. I usually take the time to observe the flock as we pass. They never fail to delight me. Chickadees are the nucleus of the mixed flock they travel in. I have seen tufted titmice, (Parus bicolor), downy woodpecker, (Picoides pubescens), white-breasted nuthatches, (Sitta carolinensis) and even a warbler or two mixed in with the chickadees.

The black-capped chickadee is easy to recognize with its black cap and throat contrasted by white cheeks. Its wings and back are gray and its sides are buff in color. It is about five inches long and weighs about 1/3 of an ounce, that's less than the weight of two quarters. It has two common and cheerful songs; chick-a-dee-dee-dee and feee-bee-ee with the first note higher. It is much easier to find this bird by its song as your walking through the woods than it is to try and locate it by sight.

Once you locate a flock it is very easy to bring them closer to you by pishing that is by vocalizing pishhh-pishhh-pishhh. This takes advantage of the chickadees curiosity and is a wonderful way to see them interact with each other and observe their flocking and feeding behavior. The chickadees curiosity and mixed flock are two of its well-known attributes, but there are several other less known that lend more character to this little bird.

One of the more unusual behavior traits is something called Batesian mimicry, in which a prey species mimics the appearance or behavior of a predator, or a distasteful or hard-to-catch prey. The viceroy butterfly, (Limenitis archippus), looking like the monarch butterfly, (Danaus plexippus) is a well-known example of this mimicry. The chickadee takes another route in imitating a predator. When threatened in the nesting cavity chickadees may hiss and sway then lunge at the intruder like a snake striking. This will hopefully startle the intruder enough to make it retreat to find easier prey.

One of the more amazing survival adaptations the black-capped chickadee possesses is the ability to go into a state of regulated hypothermia, in which it lowers its body temperature from a normal of around 108F to about 88F. This means the chickadee needs much less energy reserves to get it through a cold night. When the air temperature is around zero degrees Fahrenheit the chickadee needs to consume about 60% of its body weight in food, for a person weighing 160 pounds that would translate to about 90 pounds of food. When the air temperature gets around -20 degrees F, which it has come close to this winter, the chickadee stops foraging because it would be using more energy to find food than it would be getting from it. This is where the regulated hypothermia comes in handy otherwise the chickadee would not survive until the weather warms. As it is, about 70% are not alive one year after hatching. Studies have shown that chickadees build up fat reserves during the day to help them get through the cold winter nights. That combined with the regulated hypothermia make it possible for the chickadee to be a year round resident of central New York State.

There are many more interesting behavioral and survival traits the black-capped chickadee possesses from its flock social structure and floaters to its nesting habits. You might want to explore them this winter while you watch the birds at your feeding station. There are several books and websites you can use to expand your knowledge during those cold winter days while you sit inside and watch the cheerful chickadees flutter about.