Chickadee Line-up

BirdNote^®

Chickadee Line-up - Seven Chickadees

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote. [Black-capped Chickadee “chick-a-dee-dee” calls]

The image of this dapper Black-capped Chickadee frequently adorns Christmas cards and bags of birdseed. But the Black-capped is only one of seven species of chickadees found in North America. [Black-capped Chickadee “chick-a-dee-dee” call]

All are variations on a bold and engaging model, and each calls “chick-a-dee” with its own regional accent. While you’ll find the Black-capped Chickadee across the northern U.S. into Canada, its close cousin, the Carolina Chickadee, [Carolina Chickadee song and call] holds sway in the Southeast. Hike among conifers in the Rockies, and you’ll be greeted by the husky voice of a Mountain Chickadee [Mountain Chickadee call]. Or listen in the dense spruce forests of Canada for the call of the Boreal Chickadee [Boreal Chickadee call].

A chickadee of resplendent brown, the Chestnut-backed Chickadee, calls the Pacific Northwest home [Chestnut-backed Chickadee call]. The Mexican Chickadee just nudges into the mountains of southeast Arizona [Mexican Chickadee call] and the Gray-headed Chickadee [Gray-headed Chickadee call] turns up in the extreme northwest corner of the continent, north of the Arctic Circle.

Which chickadee will turn up in YOUR back yard? Join the Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend and watch for chickadees and more. Begin at BirdNote.org.  [Black-capped Chickadee “chick-a-dee-dee” call]

Hear the calls of all seven again, on our website, birdnote.org.

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Bird calls provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Black-capped Chickadee recorded by G.A. Keller; Carolina Chickadee (song and call) by W.L. Hershberger 84819; Mountain Chickadee by R.S. Little; Boreal Chickadee by G.Vyn; Chestnut-backed Chickadee by G.A. Keller; Mexican Chickadee 40593 by G.A. Keller; and Gray-headed Chickadee  by G. Vyn.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org       February 2017/2021   Narrator: Mary McCann

ID# chickadee-01-2011-02-23