Chestnut-Backed Chickadee, the most colorful and handsome type of chickadee. The rich brown color of these birds matches with the brown bark of the coastal trees. These birds spread widely in West Coast and Pacific Northwest.
A small chickadee can be 11.5 – 12.5 cm long with a weight of 8.5 – 12.6 g. It is a beautiful bird with a blackish-brown head, white cheeks, and a rufous-brown mantle. The feathers of this bird are dark gray with paler fingers.
Scientific Information
Common Name
Chestnut-Backed Chickadee
Scientific Name
Poecile rufescens
Family
Paridae
Type
Birds
Size
Length: 4.8 inches
You can always find these birds at the hearth of the flock moving through tall conifers. They are permanent residents of their territory. Also, this species is very active and noisy.
Here are some cool facts about the cute and colorful bird.
These birds fill their half of the nest with fur or hair.
The adult chickadee covers their eggs in a nest with half-inch thick layer of fur.
Their major predators are weasels, snakes, black bears, and mice.
This species is not a big migratory.
The oldest chestnut-backed chickadee was 9 years and 6 months old.
Standard Measurements
Length
11.5 – 12.5 cm
Weight
8.5 – 12.5 g
Wingspan
7.5 in (19 mm)
Wing
2.49 – 2.61 in (63.2 – 66.2 mm)
Tail
2.30 – 2.57 in (57 – 63.9 mm)
Culmen
0.28 – 0.35 in (7 – 9 mm)
Tarsus
0.58 – 0.64 in (12 – 14.5 mm)
Where Do Chestnut-Backed Chickadee Live?
Chestnut-backed chickadee mostly prefers dense and wet coniferous forest to live in. They also can be found in deciduous forests, eucalyptus groves, shrubs, and willow streams. Most population of this species live in southeastern Alaska to southern California.
These birds are also commonly seen at backyard feeders. Mostly they visit feeders in an area full of extensive trees and shrubs.
In the southern part of their range, they usually live in the pine-oak woods and redwood forest.
Chestnut-Backed Chickadee Food
These birds get food by hopping among twigs and branches. Also, get some food from the surface. 65% of their food based on insects and other arthropods such as spiders, caterpillars, wasps, and aphids.
They feed their young mostly wasp larvae and caterpillars. These birds also eat fruit pulp, berries, and seeds. They also readily eat suet.
Backyard Tips for Chestnut-Backed Chickadee
Hang the nest box or bird feeder on a tree in your backyard. Make sure you put peanut butter or suet in the bird feeder. Feeders full of suet and seeds attract more chickadee to your backyard.
Put your nest box before the breeding season occurred. Also, attach the guard to keep the eggs and young birds secure from predators.
Nesting Tips for Chestnut-Backed Chickadee
Male choose the location for a nest. Females choose the stuff that use to build the nest from inside. Best sites for nest can be holes in rotten trees, stumps, and old woodpecker holes. The location of the nest box should be 1 – 12 feet above the ground.
Females build the nest lonely. She builds the base of the nest with moss and strips of bark. The upper layer of the nest consists of fur, grass, feathers, and fibers.
They usually cover their eggs with a thick layer of fur and warm flap. The process of nest building takes up to 7 – 8 days. The size of the nest can be 1 – 6 inches tall. The nesting period of these birds is 18 – 21 days.
Nesting Facts
Clutch Size
1 to 11 eggs
Number of Broods
1 – 2 Broods
Egg Length
1.4 – 1.7 cm (0.6 – 0.7 in)
Egg Width
1.1 – 1.3 cm (0.4 – 0.5 in)
Incubation Period
12 to 18 days
Behavior of Chestnut-Backed Chickadee – Acrobatic
Chestnut-Backed Chickadee is a very acrobatic, agile, and active bird. They mostly feed on small insects, larvae, fruit pulp, and seeds. They are usually found in a flock of 20 birds. Sometimes they fly with other bird species similar to them.
They are permanent residents of their own ranges. Male provides all the food to female during the incubation period.
They do not like to feed on the ground. They prefer to feed on a bird feeder or nest box up from the ground.
Chestnut-Backed Chickadee Sounds
Like most of the other chickadee types, chestnut-backed chickadee doesn’t have the clear whistled fee-bee song. The song of this chickadee consists of gargle calls.
The main call of this chickadee is high, thin, and scratchy chick-a-dee, 1 to 1.5 seconds long. The number of dee notes in its call is fewer than a black-capped chickadee.
Conservation
These birds are common across their range. According to North American Breeding Bird Survey, there is a 56% decline in their population between 1966 – 2015.
The total population of this bird is 9.7 million, from which 64% lives in the United States and 36% n Canada.
Conclusion:
So, we have discussed chestnut-backed chickadee with informational facts and figures. Why do you like this bird? Which characteristic of this bird do you like?. Kindly share with us.
You can also read about other types of chickadee to know more facts about this bird.
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