Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Overview

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. Legs and feet are gray-black. Song not whistled like other chickadees, more like a sparrow chipping.

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.

INTERESTING FACTS

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

The Chestnut-backed Chickadee is currently rated as Least Concern. This bird typically resides in the Pacific Northwest portion of the United States as well as western regions of Canada. The Chestnut-backed Chickadee will occasionally migrate short distances during the winter. It prefers higher elevations in summer. At the current time there is no concern that the population of the Chestnut-backed Chickadee is in immediate danger of decrease due to its ample population within its range.