Black-capped chickadee: Difference between revisions

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chickadees are moofs ♥

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-{{Taxobox
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-| color = pink
-| name = Black-capped Chickadee
-| status = LC
-| image = Poecile-atricapilla-001.jpg
-| image_width = 260px
-| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
-| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
-| classis = [[bird|Aves]]
-| ordo = [[passerine|Passeriformes]]
-| familia = [[tit (bird)|Paridae]]
-| genus = ''[[Poecile]]''
-| species = '''''P. atricapillus'''''
-| binomial = ''Poecile atricapillus''
-| binomial_authority = ([[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[1766]])
-| synonyms = ''Parus atricapillus''
-}}
-The '''Black-capped Chickadee''' (''Poecile atricapillus'') is a small, common [[songbird]], a [[passerine]] [[bird]] in the [[titmouse|tit]] [[family (biology)|family]] Paridae.
-==Taxonomy==
-Often, it is still placed in the genus ''Parus'' with most other tits, but [[mtDNA]] [[Cytochrome|cytochrome b]] [[DNA sequence|sequence]] data and [[Morphology (biology)|morphology]] suggest that separating ''Poecile'' more adequately expresses these birds' relationships (Gill et al., 2005). The [[American Ornithologists' Union]] has been treating ''Poecile'' as distinct genus for some time already.
-The genus name ''Poecile'' has often been treated as feminine (giving the species name ending ''atricapilla''); however, this was not specified by the original genus author [[Johann Jakob Kaup]], and under the [[ICZN]] the genus name must therefore be treated by default as masculine, giving the name ending ''atricapillus'' (del Hoyo et al. 2007).
-==Description==
-The Black-capped Chickadee has a black cap and bib with white sides to the face. Its under parts are white with rusty brown on the flanks; its back is gray. It has a short dark bill, short wings and a long tail.
-==Distribution and habitat==
-The breeding habitat of the Black-capped Chickadee is mixed or [[deciduous]] woods in [[Canada]], [[Alaska]] and the northern [[United States]].
-The Black-capped and Carolina chicadees are virtually impossible to tell apart visually, but they are readily distinguished by call. Their point of overlap is near New Brunswick, New Jersey.
-==Behavior==
-They are permanent residents, but sometimes move south within their range in winter. On cold winter nights, these birds reduce their body temperature by up to 10-12 °C to conserve energy.
-During the fall migration and winter, chickadees often [[flock]] together. Many other species of birds, including [[titmice]], [[nuthatches]], and [[New World warbler|warblers]] can often be found foraging in these flocks. [[Mixed-species feeding flock|Mixed flocks]] stay together because the chickadees call out whenever they find a good source of food. This calling out forms cohesion for the group, allowing the other birds to find food more efficiently. When flocking, Black-capped Chickadees soon establish a rigid social hierarchy.
-===Vocalization===
-The vocalizations of the Black-capped chickadees are highly complex (Ficken ''et al.'', 1978). 13 distinct types of vocalizations have been classified, many of which are complex and can communicate different types of information.  Chickadees' complex vocalizations are likely an evolutionary adaptation to their habitat: they live and feed in dense vegetation, and even when the flock is close together, individual birds tend to be out of each others' visual range.
-[[Image:Chickadee - natures pics.jpg|thumb|Black-capped Chickadee, Iona Beach Regional Park]]
-The song of the Black-capped is a simple, clear whistle of two notes, identical in rhythm, the first roughly a whole-step below the second.  This is distinguished from the [[Carolina chickadee]]'s four-note call ''fee-bee fee-bay''; the lower notes are nearly identical but the higher ''fee'' notes are omitted, making the Black-capped song like ''bee bay''.
-{{listen|filename=Poecile-atricapilla-004.ogg|title=Black-capped Chickadee|description=Some 'gargles', then a minute of singing.}}
-The males only sing the song when in relative isolation from other chickadees (including their mates).  In late summer, some young birds will sing only a single note.  Both sexes sometimes make a faint version of the song, and this appears to be used when feeding young.
-The most familiar call is the familiar ''chick-a-dee-dee-dee'' which gave this bird its name.  This simple-sounding call is astonishingly complex. It has been observed to consist of up to four distinct units which can be arranged in different patterns to communicate information about threats from predators and coordination of group movement.  Recent study of the call shows that the number of ''dee''s indicates the level of threat from nearby predators. An analysis of over 5,000 alarm calls from chickadees, it was found that alarm calls triggered by small, dangerous [[Bird of prey|raptor]]s had a shorter interval between ''chick'' and ''dee'' and tended to have extra ''dee''s, usually averaging four instead of two.  In one case, a warning call about a [[pygmy owl]], a prime threat to chickadees, contained 23 ''dee''s (Templeton ''et al.'', 2005). The [[Carolina Chickadee]] makes a similar call which is faster and higher-pitched.
-There are a number of other calls and sounds that these Chickadees make, such as a ''gargle'' noise which is usually used by males to indicate a threat of attacking another male, often when feeding.  This call is also used in sexual contexts.  This noise is among the most complex of the calls, containing 2-9 of 14 distinct notes in one population that was studied.
-===Diet===
-[[image:Chickadee_seed.jpg|right|thumb|Chickadees will take food from feeders and trays to a tree branch to hammer them open.]]
-These birds hop along tree branches searching for food, sometimes hanging upside down or hovering; they may make short flights to catch insects in the air. Insects form a large part of their diet, especially in summer; seeds and berries become important in winter. They sometimes hammer seeds on a tree or shrub to open them; they also will store seeds for later use.
-===Reproduction===
-The Black-capped Chickadee nests in a hole in a tree; the pair excavates the nest, using a natural cavity or sometimes an old [[woodpecker]] nest. They may interbreed with [[Carolina Chickadee]]s or [[Mountain Chickadee]]s where their ranges overlap.
-==Relationship with humans==
-===Chickadees in Culture===
-*This is the provincial bird of [[New Brunswick]] and the [[List of U.S. state birds|state bird]] of [[Maine]] and [[Massachusetts]].
-*A Canadian children's magazine also goes by the name ''[[Chickadee (magazine)|Chickadee]]''.
-*"''[[My Little Chickadee]]''" was one of [[W.C. Fields]]' most well-known and often-used catchphrases.
-==References==<!-- Evolution8:19 -->
-{{Commons|Poecile atricapillus|Black-capped Chickadee}}
-* {{IUCN2006|assessors='''BirdLife International'''|year=2004|id=52081|title=Poecile atricapilla|downloaded=12 May 2006}} Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
-*Ficken, M.S., Ficken, R. W., & Witkin, S. R. (1978). Vocal repertoire of the Black-capped Chickadee. ''[[Auk (journal)|Auk]]'' 95 (1): 34-48. [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v095n01/p0034-p0048.pdf PDF fulltext]
-*Del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A., & Christie D. (eds). (2007). ''[[Handbook of the Birds of the World]]''. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 9788496553422
-*Gill, F. B., Slikas, B., & Sheldon, F. H. (2005). Phylogeny of titmice (Paridae): II. Species relationships based on sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome-''b'' gene. ''[[Auk (journal)|Auk]]'' 122: 121-143. [[Digital Object Identifier|DOI]]: 10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[0121:POTPIS]2.0.CO;2 [http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1642%2F0004-8038%282005%29122%5B0121%3APOTPIS%5D2.0.CO%3B2 HTML abstract]
-*Smith, S. M. (1991): ''The black-capped Chickadee: Behavioural Ecology and Natural History''. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-2382-1 (1991 reprint)
-*Templeton, C. N., Greene, E., & Davis, K. (2005). Allometry of alarm calls: black-capped chickadees encode information about predator size. ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' 308 (5730): 1934-1937. PMID 15976305 {{DOI|10.1126/science.1108841}} (HTML abstract)
-==External links==
-* Internet Bird Collection: [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=7388 Black-capped Chickadee videos]. Retrieved 2006-NOV-21.
-* [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i7350id.html Black-capped Chickadee - ''Poecile atricapilla''] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
-* [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Black-capped_Chickadee.html Black-capped Chickadee Species Account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
-* [http://www.sdakotabirds.com/species/black_capped_chickadee_info.htm Black-capped Chickadee Information and Photos] - South Dakota Birds and Birding
-* BirdHouses101.com: [http://www.birdhouses101.com/black-capped-chickadee.asp Black-capped Chickadee]. Retrieved 2006-NOV-21.
-* [http://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/16000800.htm Stamps]
-[[Category:Poecile]]
-[[Category:Birds of Canada|Chickadee, Black-capped]]
-[[Category:Birds of the United States|Chickadee, Black-capped]]
-[[Category:Native birds of Alaska|Chickadee, Black-capped]]
-[[Category:United States state birds]]
-[[Category:Provincial symbols of New Brunswick]]
-[[de:Schwarzkopfmeise]]
-[[fr:Mésange à tête noire]]
-[[pl:Sikora czarnogłowa]]
-[[ru:Гаичка черношапочная]]