Mountain Chickadee
Poecile gambeli
White stripe above the eye separates it from other chickadees. Otherwise, much like other chickadees: grayish overall with a big head, tiny bill, and black cap and throat. Tends to be in high-elevation mountainous areas with dry, coniferous forests. Active and acrobatic. Often in flocks with nuthatches and kinglets. Visits feeders.
Identification
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. The typical adult wingspan is 7.5 in (19 cm), and the overall length is 5–6 in (13–15 cm). The Mountain Chickadee is one of 55 species of Chickadees and Tits. The mountain chickadee can be distinguished from other North American chickadees because mountain chickadees are marked with a white line through the side of their black cap, whereas all other North American chickadees have a solid black-cap. Another difference between the mountain chickadee and the 55 other species of chickadees is their location, range, and habitat.
Taxonomy
The specific name honors naturalist William Gambel. The mountain chickadee was formerly 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. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the mountain chickadee is sister to the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus).
- Scientific name
- Poecile gambeli
- Authority
- (Ridgway, 1886)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Paridae
- Genus
- Poecile
Range and habitat
Common inhabitants of the mountainous regions of the western United States and Canada, their range extends from the southern Yukon to California and Rocky Mountain States in the United States. A few mountain chickadees may migrate locally up the mountains in the summer and down into the mountain foothills in the winter; but this phenomenon is not well documented.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Northern Nutcracker
Nucifraga caryocatactes
Large, distinctive corvid, roughly the size of a Eurasian Jay. Note the long and heavy bill, white-flecked face, and black cap. Note white-spotted dark brown back and sides. Short tail, white vent, and white tail markings evident during undulating, woodpecker-like flight. Inhabits coniferous and mixed forests, from lowlands up into high montane forests. Often stores nuts for the winter. Mostly resident but large numbers may irrupt periodically out of the normal range in response to food shortages. Gives a variety of calls, especially during the breeding season, including harsh grating rasps, as well as quieter “mumbling” calls and mimicry. Formerly grouped with Southern Nutcracker under the more generic “Eurasian Nutcracker.”
Musk Duck
Biziura lobata
Large and chunky stiff-tailed diving duck with a heavy triangular bill. Floats very low in the water. Both sexes are dark grayish, but male has an obvious lobe of skin dangling from its chin. Usually observed on the water, regularly diving while feeding. Bill is much shorter and heavier than Blue-billed Duck.
Tepui Tinamou
Crypturellus ptaritepui
Unbarred, dark rufous tinamou with a gray face, throat, and belly. With a good view note the pale eyes and orange base to the bill. Found at medium to high elevations in humid forest on the slopes of a few tepuis in southeastern Venezuela, northern Brazil, and southwestern Guyana. Rarely encountered unless voice is known; song is a long and high-pitched whistle, fading at end. Similar to Little Tinamou (which has a very different voice), but Tepui Tinamou is darker and has pale eyes.
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