The Black-Capped Chickadee

Paul Carrier, a Connecticut birder, sent the following quote on the CT Birds listserv recently:

A great Native American Quote

"We learned to be patient observers like the owl.  We learned cleverness from the crow, and courage from the jay, who will attack an owl ten times it size to drive off its territory.  But above all of them ranked the chickadee, because of its indomitable spirit."

Tom Brown, Jr.  (A Native American Elder)

How interesting it is to mention the small chickadee in the same breath with the larger predatory owl.  But Mr. Brown did.

According to Sibley, there are seven species of chickadee that can be found in North America with the black-capped having the largest range stretching from coast to coast and from about Colorado up to most of Alaska and half of Canada.

The black-capped can be found in wooded areas but is a frequent all year round visitor to bird feeders as you can tell by these pictures I took of my hopper feeder.



As its name states, the black-capped chickadee has a black cap to go with its black throat.  And also as its name indicates, one of the various calls of the bird is its familiar "chickadee dee dee dee".