Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 3.9–4.7 in
10–12 cm - Wingspan
- 7.5 in
19 cm - Weight
- 0.2–0.4 oz
7–12 g
Relative Size
- The smallest, shortest-tailed chickadee
Other Names
- Mésange à dos marron (French)
Cool Facts
- The Chestnut-backed Chickadee uses lots of fur in making its nest, with fur or hair accounting for up to half the material in the hole. Rabbit, coyote, and deer hair are most common, but hair from skunks, cats, horses, or cows appears in nests as well. The adults make a layer of fur about a half-inch thick that they use to cover the eggs when they leave the nest.
- Hole-nesting birds tend to have higher nest success rates than open-cup nesters, but that doesn't mean that they are immune to predation. Chestnut-backed Chickadee nests get attacked by predators including mice, squirrels, weasels, snakes, and black bears.
- The Chestnut-backed Chickadee is not truly migratory, but it does make some seasonal movements. In late summer some birds move higher into the mountains. They move back to lower elevations when winter starts, particularly after heavy snowfalls.
- The oldest recorded Chestnut-backed Chickadee was 9 years 6 months old.
Habitat
Forest
Chestnut-backed Chickadees eat about 65 percent insects and other arthropods, including spiders, caterpillars, leafhoppers, tiny scale insects, wasps, and aphids, feeding their young mainly caterpillars and wasp larvae. To a lesser extent they also eat seeds, berries and fruit pulp.
Food
Insects
Chestnut-backed Chickadees eat about 65 percent insects and other arthropods, including spiders, caterpillars, leafhoppers, tiny scale insects, wasps, and aphids, feeding their young mainly caterpillars and wasp larvae. To a lesser extent they also eat seeds, berries and fruit pulp.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 1–11 eggs
- Number of Broods
- 1-2 broods
- Egg Length
- 0.6–0.7 in
1.4–1.7 cm - Egg Width
- 0.4–0.5 in
1.1–1.3 cm - Incubation Period
- 12–18 days
- Nestling Period
- 18–21 days
- Egg Description
- White with reddish to light-brown spots.
- Condition at Hatching
- Naked except for sparse tufts of down, eyes closed, clumsy.
Nest Description
The female builds the nest on her own. She makes a bottom layer or foundation of moss and strips of bark, particularly incense cedar when it’s available. The nest’s upper layer consists of animal fur woven with strips of bark, grass, feathers, and sometimes textile fibers. Among the kinds of fur found in these nests are rabbit, coyote, deer, skunk, cats, horses, and cattle. Adults also use fur to make a thin, warm flap to cover eggs when they leave the nest. Nest building takes 7-8 days, and the finished product can be quite variable in size: from about 1 inch to 6 inches tall.
Nest Placement
Cavity
Males take the first step in choosing nest sites, approaching a possible location while the female watches. Later, the female decides on the site, enters the cavity, and accepts pieces of vegetation brought by the male. Nest sites can be holes in rotted trees, stumps, and posts soft enough for the chickadees to excavate themselves, or old woodpecker holes. These nests are commonly 1-12 feet off the ground. Chestnut-backed Chickadees also readily use nest boxes.
© René Corado / WFVZ
© René Corado / WFVZ
Behavior
Foliage Gleaner
Chestnut-backed Chickadees hop through trees and shrubs, often starting low down and working their way up to the top, then dropping low into a nearby tree. They pick insects and seeds from bark and twigs, sometimes hovering to reach items, or darting out to catch insects like a flycatcher or redstart. Many Chestnut-backed Chickadee pairs stay together for a year or less; a smaller number stay together for 2 to 4 years. Chestnut-backed Chickadees often form flocks with other species in winter. Where Chestnut-backed and Mountain chickadee ranges overlap, you’ll frequently find both species in a single flock, along with Red-breasted Nuthatches, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned kinglets, and Brown Creepers. During winter, and they travel together in search of food. Flight can be direct, but is most often slightly undulating as is common in most chickadees.
Conservation
Least Concern
Populations appear stable throughout most of range. Chestnut-backed Chickadees nest in holes in dead limbs and trees, so forest management practices that remove these elements from a forest can make it harder for these birds to find nest sites.
Credits
- Dahlsten, Donald L., Leonard A. Brennan, D. Archibald Mccallum and Sandra L. Gaunt. 2002. Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu.proxy.library.cornell.edu/bna/species/689
- Dunne, P. 2006. Pete Dunne’s essential field guide companion. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
- Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder’s handbook. Simon & Schuster Inc., New York.
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Patuxent Wildlife Research Center longevity records
Migration
Resident. During summer months some Chestnut-backed Chickadees move to higher elevations.
Backyard Tips
Set up bird feeders in your backyard with black oil sunflower seed, suet or other mixed seeds. If Chestnut-backed Chickadees inhabit your area, setting up nest boxes might entice them to nest on your property.
Find This Bird
Look for Chestnut-backed Chickadees high in the branches of coastal conifers, or lower down in shrubs around yards and park borders. When searching for Chestnut-backed Chickadees in winter, listen for its conspicuous chick-a-dee and other call notes, a great way to find this bird and the several other species that habitually forage with them.