Species: Poecile rufescens

Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Species
    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Aves

    Order

    Passeriformes

    Family

    Paridae

    Genus

    Poecile

    Classification
    Other Global Common Names
    Mésange à dos marron
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Perching Birds
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Passeriformes - Paridae - Poecile - (Gill et al. 1993).
    Migration
    true - false - false - Wanders irregularly inland after breeding season.
    Non-migrant
    true
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    Eats mainly insects gleaned from twigs, branches, and trunks of trees and shrubs; in the breeding season, forages often on outer foliage (needles, leaves, or buds) (Kleintjes and Dahlsten 1994); also eats spiders, some fruit, conifer seeds (Terres 1980).
    Reproduction Comments
    Clutch size is 5-9 (commonly 6-7). Young are tended by both parents. May nest in loose colonies.
    Ecology Comments
    Often forms flocks of 4-20 individuals during nonbreeding season, often in loose association with other species (juncos, kinglets, nuthatches, etc.). Recent range expansion in the Sierra Nevada was not accompanied by declines in mountain chickadee numbers (Brennan and Morrison 1991).
    Length
    12
    Weight
    10
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    1996-12-02
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-12-02
    Other Status

    LC - Least concern

    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=S4&US.AK=S5&US.CA=SNR&US.ID=S4&US.MT=S4&US.OR=S5&US.WA=S5" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    Resident from south-central and southeastern Alaska to western Alberta, south to southern California and northwestern Montana. Wanders irregularly inland after breeding season. Over the past several decades, range has expanded in the San Francisco Bay area and in the Sierra Nevada; no longer appears to be increasing in the Sierra Nevada, but some populations in the San Francisco Bay area apparently are still increasing (Brennan and Morrison 1991). Planted stands of Monterey pine may have contributed to the range expansion in the San Francisco Bay region (Kleintjes and Dahlsten 1994).
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104851