Mountain Chickadee

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Poecile Gambeli

Mountain Chickadee

Adults of both sexes have a black cap joining a black postocular stripe behind distinctive white eyebrows.

Their backs and flanks are gray and they have paler gray underparts; they have a short black bill, and a black bib.

BILL: black and short.

SIZE: measures about 5 - 6 inches in length, with a wingspan of 7.5 inches.

WEIGHT: weighs about 11 grams.

COLOR: black, gray and white.

Insects, spiders, seeds, and berries.

Coniferous forest for breeding, and occasionally in lower-elevation mixed or deciduous woodlands.

Mountainous regions of the western United States, extending from the southern Yukon to California and the Rocky Mountain States in the United States.

CALL: A throaty "chick-adee-dee-dee".

SONG: A 3- or 4-note descending whistle "fee-bee-bay" or "fee-bee-fee-bee".

NEST: The nest is located in natural crevices, nest boxes and occasionally on the ground amid roots.

The female builds a neat cup of fur inside the cavity and makes a fur plug or cap to cover the eggs.

EGGS: 8 - 9 plain white eggs, sometimes speckled with red.

INCUBATION: 12 - 15 days, female.

NESTLING PHASE: 17 - 23 days.

They are a very active forager, moving quickly through the forest canopy in search of food.

They will usually move through leaves and foliage and glean food items, and may also occasionally hover while foraging.

They usually feed fairly high in the forest canopy, making it difficult to spot.

They travel in pairs or small groups and may join multi-species feeding flocks after breeding season.

The oldest recorded Mountain Chickadee was a male, and at least 10 years, 1 month old.

Mountain Chickadee Infographic

SOURCES: https://www.birds-of-north-america.net

Gray Birds Seen in North America - Mountain Chickadee