Black-capped Chickadee

Walking down by the river on the Laramie Greenbelt, I heard a chickadee call that sounded a little different to the ones I had lately been hearing.  In the nearby bushes, five black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus, were feeding.

A separate species to the western mountain chickadees that have been visiting my house (see my bird update) and keeping me entertained during my cross-country ski outings, the range of the black-capped chickadee extends all the way through the northern U.S. to the east coast. They are the state bird of both Maine and Massachusetts.

Black-capped chickadees have a solid cap that reaches down to their eyes, unlike the white eyebrow stripe of the mountain chickadees. These birds also have more tan on their sides and prefer shrubby trees and streamside environments to the coniferous woods that the mountain chickadees seem to like. I also think they have a slighter build.  So far, they have not yet discovered my feeders, but perhaps it is only a matter of time!