The black crested chickadee (Poecile atricristatus) is a small songbird native to North America. It is a member of the chickadee family Paridae, known for their acrobatic movements, curiosity, and friendly behavior. The black crested chickadee gets its name from the striking black crest or “cap” of feathers on its head. But what exactly is this unique little bird, and what makes it stand out?
Identification and Description
The black crested chickadee is a tiny bird, measuring only 4.5-5.5 inches in length with a wingspan of 6.5-8 inches. It weighs a mere 0.3-0.5 ounces. Its body is covered in soft grayish-brown feathers, with a black bib extending from its black throat up across its chest. The namesake black crest feathers can be raised or flattened against its head. The chickadee has a short black bill and dark eyes surrounded by white feathers that can give it a “masked” facial appearance. Its tail and undertail covert feathers are also black.
In general, the black crested chickadee resembles other chickadees in shape and behavior. However, its distinctive black cap and bib set it apart from other chickadees like the Carolina chickadee, which has a white face and throat. Only the male black crested chickadee possesses the iconic black crest; females have a smaller gray crest instead.
Habitat and Range
The black crested chickadee is found across much of the western half of North America. Its range extends from western Canada down through the western United States into Mexico. It resides predominantly in mountain forests, especially pine and mixed coniferous forests. This habitat provides the tree cavities in which the chickadees nest and take shelter.
Within its forested mountain habitat, the black crested chickadee can be found year-round at elevations ranging from 4000 to 9500 feet. It does migrate vertically along mountain slopes to adjust to the changing seasons. In warmer months, it resides at higher elevations. In winter, it migrates downslope to escape extreme cold and snow. But it does not undergo long migrations as some other birds do.
Behavior and Diet
The black crested chickadee displays the energy, intelligence, and acrobatic talents characteristic of its fellow chickadees. It is an active, social bird that spends much of its time foraging in trees and shrubs for food and exploring its habitat. It often hangs upside down or hovers to pick insects, seeds, and berries from foliage and bark. Its sharp beak enables it to hammer into wood and tree galls to extract hidden insects.
The chickadee’s diet consists primarily of insects like beetles, caterpillars, ants, and spiders. It supplements its diet with seeds and berries. In winter, it relies more heavily on cached food like seeds and nuts to survive cold months when insects are scarce. Food caching allows it to make use of its excellent spatial memory to locate hidden food.
Throughout the year, the black crested chickadee can be found in small flocks of 3 to 12 birds. Outside of breeding season, it flocks with other chickadees and woodland birds like nuthatches and kinglets. This flocking behavior facilitates finding food and provides safety in numbers from predators.
Vocalizations and Sounds
The vocal repertoire of the black crested chickadee includes a variety of whistles, notes, and calls. Its most famous call is the “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” song that gives chickadees their name. The species uses a complex system of these chick-a-dee calls to communicate information about threats, food sources, flock movement, and more. Various permutations of the notes relay specific meaning understood by other chickadees.
In addition to the chick-a-dee call, the black crested chickadee utilizes a wide array of other whistles, notes, and vocalizations. Their calls can sound high, nasal, musical, or buzzy. Examples include a descending whistled “fee-bee-bee”, a hissing “shheet”, and a buzzy “dzreeeee”. Soft warbling notes are used during courtship. Begging calls sound like a descending whine.
Male and female black crested chickadees have similar vocalizations. However, male chick-a-dee calls tend to have lower pitch on average. Males and females also use distinct calls when communicating to indicate their sex.
Breeding and Nesting
The breeding season for the black crested chickadee runs from April through July. It relies on old woodpecker nest holes or natural tree cavities to build a nest, as it is unable to excavate holes itself. The female constructs the nest out of moss, grass, bark strips, feathers, fur, and other soft materials. Nest construction takes 6-18 days.
Once the nest is complete, the female lays a clutch of 5-9 tiny white eggs with reddish-brown speckles. She incubates the eggs alone for about 14 days before they hatch. The male brings food to the female throughout incubation. Both parents then supply the hungry hatchlings with caterpillars and other insects.
The baby chickadees fledge the nest at around 16-18 days old, but continue to be fed by the parents for several weeks as they learn to forage on their own. By their third week out of the nest, the juveniles are able to feed themselves. The parents may go on to raise a second brood in one season.
Adaptations
The black crested chickadee possesses behavioral, physical, and physiological adaptations that help it thrive:
- Very good spatial memory and caching behavior to survive harsh winters
- Sharp beak for excavating insects and hammering seeds open
- Feather dense, loose plumage to help retain body heat
- Ability to drop body temperature and enter torpor overnight to conserve energy
- Flocking behavior provides protection, easier food finding, and social learning
- Complex vocal communication system
- Small body size enables acrobatic foraging and use of small nesting cavities
Relationship to Humans
The curious, active nature of the black crested chickadee makes it endearing to many human observers. Chickadees may visit backyard bird feeders, especially in winter, providing people with close-up views of these characterful birds. Their chick-a-dee calls and antics can brighten a winter day.
While chickadees take well to feeders, it’s important not to let them become dependent on artificial food sources. Habitat preservation is key to maintaining healthy populations of chickadees and other birds. Planting native trees and shrubs helps provide the seeds, berries, and nesting sites they rely on.
Limiting pesticide use around gardens and woods also supports insect populations chickadees need to feed their young. Providing nest boxes where natural cavities are scarce gives them safe nesting sites. With appropriate habitat and foraging sites, chickadees and humans can coexist happily.
Conservation Status
The black crested chickadee has a large range and stable population trend, according to the IUCN Red List. Therefore, it is classified as a species of Least Concern. Population threats appear minimal at this time.
However, the chickadee does face some localized habitat loss in parts of its range due to factors like increased fire frequency, insect pest control, and development pressures. Monitoring will be important to watch for any future population declines that could warrant increased conservation actions.
This charismatic songbird remains widespread and common throughout appropriate mountain forest habitat across western North America. Maintaining adequate habitat and protections will be key to the continued success of the black crested chickadee alongside human communities. Its charming nature and important ecological role make this small songbird worth conserving.
Conclusion
The black crested chickadee is a special small songbird that makes its home in the mountains of western North America. With its cute appearance and energetic antics, it endears itself to humans and plays an important role in its forest ecosystem. This little acrobat survives frigid winters and thrives through clever adaptations like food caching and complex vocalizations. Providing appropriate habitat is key to supporting chickadee populations. If chickadees have adequate large trees, nesting cavities, insects, and seeds, they will continue to brighten their mountain homes with their lively chick-a-dee-dee calls and fascinating behaviors.
