Poecile gambeli
adult
The Mountain Chickadee recalls its Black-capped Chickadee cousin but the diagnostic white supercilium allows certain separation. The sexes are similar, as are adults and juveniles. The back is gray in birds in the south of the species’ range but gray-buff in birds in the north. All birds have pale fringes to the inner flight feathers and coverts, creating a subtle panel. The black cap has a white supercilium, and the throat and bib are black. The pale underparts have a gray wash to the flanks. The legs are blue-gray and the bill is dark.
As its name suggests, the Mountain Chickadee is a high-altitude species, present year-round in its western North American range. It occurs up to the treeline in summer but may descend to lower levels in winter, when it often joins roving mixed-species flocks of small songbirds. Conifer seeds are stored as a larder for the winter months.
adult
FACT FILE
LENGTH 5.25 in (13.5 cm)
FOOD Invertebrates and seeds
HABITAT Mountain conifer forests
STATUS Locally common resident
VOICE Song is a four-note fee-bee, fee-bay. Call is a nasal chika-tzee-tzee
