Mexican Chickadee

Overview

Mexican Chickadee: Small chickadee with gray upperparts, sides, and undertail coverts, black cap and bib, white cheeks, and white lower breast and belly. Wings and tail are gray. Legs and feet are gray-black. The only chickadee found in Mexico, and is vulnerable to diminishing habitat.

Range and Habitat

Mexican Chickadee: Resident in extreme southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico; also in Mexico. Preferred habitats include coniferous or pine-oak forests at high altitudes.

INTERESTING FACTS

Although primarily nonmigratory, Mexican Chickadees sometimes fly to lower elevations during the cold of winter.
Unlike other chickadees, it does not store food.
When leaving the nest, females may cover the chicks with nesting material. Upon returning, the female often applies crushed beetles to the outside of the nest cavity; the chemicals may repel predators.
A group of chickadees are collectively known as a "banditry" and a "dissimulation" of chickadees.

The Mexican Chickadee has a large range, estimated globally at 200,000 square kilometers. Native to the United States and Mexico, this bird prefers subtropical or tropical forest and shrubland ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 500,000 to 5,000,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Mexican Chickadee is Least Concern.