Lyrical Chickadees
Chickadee populations are doing well in North America, in part because these diminutive birds have adapted remarkably well to extreme weather conditions. The closely related black-capped, Carolina, and mountain chickadees are the most widespread of the seven chickadee species found on the continent, and most are nonmigratory, meaning they’ll stay nearby for all four seasons.
The black-capped chickadee is found coast to coast throughout the northern two-thirds of the United States, and into Alaska and Canada. Carolina chickadees reside in the southeastern United States, but are expanding northward. Mountain chickadees live in the high-elevation coniferous forests of southern Arizona, Baja California, British Columbia, and the Yukon. Wherever these species overlap, they can hybridize.
A flock of chickadees is called a “banditry,” after the mask-like appearance of the birds’ head feathers. To identify which chickadee species has taken
