General

Chestnut-backed Chickadee: Small, energetic chickadee with chestnut-brown back, rump and flanks, and white breast and belly. Cap and throat are black; cheek patch is white. Wings and tail are dark. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Chestnut-backed Chickadee: Resident from coastal Alaska south to central California; also in western ranges of the Rocky Mountains in southern British Columbia, southern Alberta, and western Montana. Preferred habitats are Pacific rain forest and moist areas containing conifers.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chip-chip-chip-chip", "tseek-a-dee-dee"

Interesting Facts

 The Chestnut-backed Chickadee is a cavity nester and will line their nests with the fur of deer, rabbits and coyotes. They also make a blanket of fur to cover the eggs when they leave the nest.

 They store food in the fall and consume it in winter.

 In the part of their range where they overlap with the Black-capped Chickadee they will nest and feed in the lower half of trees only in order to minimize competition.

 A group of chickadees are collectively known as a "banditry" and a "dissimulation" of chickadees.

Author

Gary Owen Dick