Click here for a picture of a Black Capped Chickadee!!
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Genus: Poecile
Species: carolinensis
CHARACTERISTICS: It is about 5 inches in length, has a black head, white breast, and a white belly. Males and females are very similar in appearance. The bill, legs, and feet are all black. They are very active birds; constantly hopping about, and spending most of the day feeding. The flocks of chickadees spend all winter feeding from back-yard feeders, and in the spring they move into the woods to nest.
ADAPTATION: These birds can be fooled easily into nesting in a wooden box by filling it with sawdust. They slowly remove the bits of sawdust as if it were a stump. They use natural resources such as wood, dirt, feathers, and grass for their nests.
HABITAT: They mostly live in forests and open woodlans in the spring, and neighborhood back-yards in the winter. They are abundant from Alaska, East to Canada and Newfoundland, South to Northern California, Northern Mexico, Missouri, and Northern New Jersey. In the winter they head South to Maryland and Texas.
FOOD GATHERING/WHAT IT EATS: They mostly feed on insects, seeds, and berries. The chickadee spends most it's day, sunrise to sunset, feeding and gathering food. It's small pointed beak works well for quickly snatching insects, and plucking berries off bushes.
REPRODUCTION/REARING OF YOUNG: Reproduction begins in the fall, with eggs being laid between April and July, depending on location. The female builds the nest alone, and incubates the eggs. The eggs are left unattended for only 7 minutes at a time. The male brings food to the female, who feeds it to the chicks once they hatch. Their nest is made up of grass, feathers, moss, and other soft materials. She usually lays 6-8 brown-speckled eggs. The nest usually is placed in an empty rotten tree stump. The eggs are incubated for two weeks and the young leave the nest after about two or three more weeks.
A DAY IN THE LIFE....
Once upon a time there was a bird named Timmy. He was a baby Black-Capped Chickadee. Every day Timmy sits in his nest with his five brothers and sisters while he observes the surroundings. Mom is almost always near, perching in the nest with the young. Dad seems to come and go, bringing food back to the babies and to Mom. Usually they eat small insects, berries, or seeds. Timmy is so anxious to leave the nest, one day he jumps, thinking he can just flutter into the sky like his Mom and Dad, only to fall, tumbling to the forest ground. He hops around for a bit, until a snake slithers close by. The snake eats him. The End.
KATU page with Current Event Story
SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENT--
This article is about a wild turkey in Eugene, OR, named Tom. The Turkeys are a problem because they continue to multiply since people keep feeding them. There have been complaints that the turkeys have stopped traffic, backed people against trees, and trapped people in their cars. Although many people enjoy the company of the turkey, since it has been there so long.
