Gray-headed Chickadee
Poecile cinctus
Large fluffy head, dark cocoa crown, big black chin patch, and rusty flanks separate this species from other tits in its home of the vast boreal forests. Usually occurs in well-preserved lichen-clad pine forests but also in upland birch forests. Varied vocal repertoire; some calls can be similar to Willow Tits. Feeds on insects and seeds. Visit feeders.
Identification
Large fluffy head, dark cocoa crown, big black chin patch, and rusty flanks separate this species from other tits in its home of the vast boreal forests. Usually occurs in well-preserved lichen-clad pine forests but also in upland birch forests. Varied vocal repertoire; some calls can be similar to Willow Tits. Feeds on insects and seeds. Visit feeders.
Taxonomy
The grey-headed chickadee was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1779 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Siberia. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Parus cinctus in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The grey-headed chickadee is now one of 15 species placed in the genus Poecile that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The genus name is from Ancient Greek poikilos "colourful". A related word poikilidos denoted an unidentified small bird. The specific epithet cinctus is Latin for "banded".<p>Formerly, the grey-headed chickadee was placed in the genus Parus with most other tits, but mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data and morphology suggest that separating Poecile more adequately expresses these birds' relationships.<p>Four subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Poecile cinctus
- Authority
- (Boddaert, 1783)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Paridae
- Genus
- Poecile
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Cape Verde Storm-Petrel
Hydrobates jabejabe
Very similar to Band-rumped and Monteiro's Storm-Petrels, and closely related to those taxa. Breeds only on Cape Verde islands. There are no published field identification features to tell them apart. However it appears that its upperwing pattern is more contrasting and the rump patch is broader. Breeds in burrows and crevices on islands. Burrow calls are different from Band-rumped and Monteiro's by being extremely long, without pauses.
Cipo Canastero
Asthenes luizae
Distinctive ovenbird with a long, graduated tail that is often held cocked. Mostly gray with a rufous-chestnut tail. Note the white chin with fine black streaks. Found in grassy areas with rocks, where it usually forages on the ground.
Thyolo Alethe
Chamaetylas choloensis
A robust, chocolate-backed forest skulker with clean-cut pale underparts washed gray, and a distinctive white throat and outer tail tips. Singles and pairs are shy and inconspicuous residents in the dense under-story of mid-altitude forest, between 700–1900m. May follow army-ant swarms, where it loses its fear of humans. Calls a loud downslurred quavering “tiiyuuu” and harsh chitter in alarm. Similar White-chested Alethe differs from Cholo by having gray (not brown) face and rufous tail lacking white.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.