Chestnut-backed Chickadee Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  Tiny, large-headed but small-billed, with a rather long, narrow tail and short, rounded wings.

  Relative Size

  The smallest, shortest-tailed chickadee

  sparrow-sized or smaller

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 3.9-4.7 in (10-12 cm)
    • Weight: 0.3-0.4 oz (7-12 g)
    • Wingspan: 7.5 in (19 cm)

  © David Badke / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  The Chestnut-backed Chickadee is boldly black and white on the head like other chickadees, but the back is a rich chestnut instead of the more typical slaty gray. The flanks can be either rich brown (north of San Francisco) or dull gray (central and southern California).

• Behavior

  Active and acrobatic, clinging to small limbs and twigs or hanging upside down from cones. In winter, Chestnut-backed Chickadees flock with kinglets and nuthatches. Flight is generally short and undulating, with flock members setting out to cross openings one at a time.

• Habitat

  Chestnut-backed Chickadees are found in dense coniferous and mixed coniferous forests of the Pacific Coast. You can also find them in shrubs, trees, and parks of cities, towns, and suburbs.

Regional Differences

Chestnut-backed Chickadees have dark chestnut flanks over most of their range, but birds from the central California coast (from Marin County southward) have gray flanks with limited chestnut toward the tail.

Regional Photos

© Marie O'Shaughnessy / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, March 17, 2017

© Paul Fenwick / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, September 04, 2016