Chickadee

Chickadee, small, uncrested, North American bird, often associated with the titmouse. Chickadees are plump birds with large heads, beady eyes, and short bills. Their plumage is mainly grayish with a distinctive dark cap, black bib, white cheeks, and white edging on the wing feathers. All have active feeding styles, either hopping from limb to limb or hanging upside down from a twig in search of food. The name chickadee is derived from the characteristic rasping call note of the songbirds.

The black-capped chickadee is common in forests and thickets throughout the northern United States and southern Canada. The Carolina chickadee is similar to the black-capped, but noticeably smaller; it is found in the southeastern United States. The chestnut-backed chickadee is the most common species of the Pacific coast, and the boreal chickadee inhabits northern coniferous forests.

Scientific classification: Chickadees belong to the family Paridae. The black-capped chickadee is classified as Parus atricapillus, the Carolina chickadee as Parus carolinensis, the chestnut-backed chickadee as Parus rufescens, and the boreal chickadee as Parus hudsonicus.