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Gray-headed Chickadee

Poecile cinctusOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Titmice and Chickadees (Paridae)
Gray-headed Chickadee Breeding Male Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: All-purpose
  • Eye Color: Dark brown.
  • Head Pattern: No Data
  • Crown Color: Dark Gray
  • Forehead Color: Dark Gray
  • Nape Color: Dark Gray
  • Throat Color: Black
  • Cere color: No Data
Gray-headed Chickadee Breeding Male Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 11-14 cm (4.5-5.5 in)
  • Weight: 11 g (0.4 oz)
  • Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
  • Color: White, Brown, Gray, Buff
  • Underparts: White with buff-gray wash on sides and flanks.
  • Upperparts: Dark Gray
  • Back Pattern: No Data
  • Belly Pattern: No Data
  • Breast Pattern: No Data
Gray-headed Chickadee Breeding Male Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Short slow fluttering flights with rapid wing beats. May alternate quick wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
  • Wingspan Range: 20 cm (8 in)
  • Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Forked Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Dark Gray
  • Under Tail: Dark Gray
  • Leg Color: Gray-black
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Family Titmice (Paridae)_blue
Species Poecile cinctus
Length4.5 - 5.5 Inches
Wingspan8 Inches

Gray-headed Chickadee

Gray-headed Chickadee: Medium chickadee with gray-brown back, gray cap, black bib, white cheeks, and white underparts washed with buff-gray on sides and flanks. Wings and tail are gray with white-edged feathers. Formerly called the Siberian Tit, it is the hardiest of all chickadees.

● Song: "dee deer"

● Foraging & Feeding: Gray-headed Chickadee: Feeds on insects, spiders, food scraps, conifer seeds, and berries; forages in conifers and shrubs, gleaning insects from trunks, branches, and foliage.

● Breeding & nesting: Gray-headed Chickadee: Seven to nine white eggs marked with red brown, olive or gray, are laid in a nest made of grass, cottonwood down, flowers, fur, and cocoons, lined with grass, other vegetation, and animal fur, and built 4 to 28 feet above the ground in a deciduous tree, snag, or nest box. Incubation ranges from 13 to 16 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Gray-headed Chickadee: Boreal Chickadee has brown cap, back, and rump, lacks white edges on wing feathers, and has shorter tail. Black-capped Chickadee has black cap, gray back, and extensive white edges on wing feathers.

Flight Pattern

Short slow fluttering flights with rapid wing beats. May alternate quick wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
Gray-headed Chickadee Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Gray-headed Chickadee: North American range is restricted to central Alaska and far northwestern Canada. Lives primarily among scattered conifers and riparian willow and aspen thickets.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationRare
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight0.4 Ounces