The Carolina Chickadee ( Poecile carolinensis) is a small, energetic songbird endemic to the southeastern United States. Very similar to the Black-capped Chickadee, this bird replaces it in the southeastern states. This permanent resident, measuring only 4-5" (10-13 cm), is a familiar sight in backyard bird feeders and wooded areas alike. Despite being a common species, the Carolina Chickadee faces threats such as habitat loss and the proliferation of invasive plants.
Identification
The Carolina Chickadee is extremely similar to the Black-capped Chickadee. Averages slightly smaller. Identifying these birds can be tricky, especially where their ranges overlap. In fresh plumage (late fall and winter), Black-capped shows more obvious white edgings on feathers of forward part of wing, while Carolina is plain gray there, but both can look plain gray-winged in worn summer plumage. Black bib may have neater lower edge on Carolina, more ragged edge on Black-capped. The best clue is range. The Carolina Chickadee's buzzy "chickadee-dee-dee-dee" call is higher pitched and faster than that of the Black-capped Chickadee; song has 4 whistled notes, see-dee, see-dee, with a downward inflection, rather than the 2- or 3-noted song of the Black-capped. Where the ranges of Black-capped and Carolina chickadees come together, they often interbreed. In these contact zones, they also can learn to imitate each other's songs -- causing great confusion for birdwatchers.
Habitat and Distribution
Carolina Chickadees can be found in wide variety of areas, but prefer habitats that have deciduous or mixed-deciduous with coniferous woodlands. They thrive in mixed and deciduous woods, river groves, and shade trees. Mostly in deciduous forest, also in pine woods with good mixture of oak or other leafy trees, and will nest in well-wooded suburbs. Their habitat is like that of Black-capped Chickadee; where the two species overlap in the Appalachians, Carolina Chickadee lives at lower elevations. They are adaptable birds, inhabiting a wide variety of wooded habitats across most of the Southeast, from the eastern half of Texas across to central Florida, and north to northern New Jersey; eastern and western Pennsylvania; northern Ohio and Indiana; and central Illinois.
During migration and winter, Carolina Chickadees will often flock with each other. Not only that, but many other species such as Tufted titmice, Black-capped chickadees, woodpeckers, kinglets, and Brown Creepers often join the flocks.
Diet and Foraging Behavior
The Carolina Chickadee is an active forager, constantly searching for food. Mostly insects, seeds, and berries. They forage mostly by hopping among twigs and branches and gleaning food from surface, often hanging upside down to reach underside of branches. Sometimes takes food while hovering, and may fly out to catch insects in mid-air. They are also known to store food items, retrieving them later. Comes to bird feeders for seeds or suet.
Read also: A Guide to Carolina Physicians Weight Loss
In wintertime, their diet is split 50-50 between plants and insects. Carolina Chickadees glean insects from foliage and tree bark, often hanging upside down to do so. They hold seeds and insects in their feet, wedged against the branch they’re perched on, to peck into them. They readily use bird feeders.
The Carolina Chickadee's diet varies seasonally. Caterpillars make up major part of diet in warmer months; also feeds on moths, true bugs, beetles, aphids, various other insects and spiders. The rest of the year about 80-90 percent of their diet is animal (mostly insects and spiders). They also eat weed and tree seeds, berries, small fruits. Probably eats more vegetable matter (seeds and berries) in winter than in summer.
Chickadees feed their nestlings exclusively insects and spiders gleaned from foliage and tree bark. Scientists tell me fifty per cent of Carolina Chickadees’ winter diet comes from these dormant creatures. Insect food is proportionately higher in fat and calories than plants. Nevertheless, they relish the sunflower and safflower seeds at my feeders. Sometimes they eat suet and peanuts, too. In the wild they consume seeds, berries, and cones. Frequently I observe them devouring seeds while dangling from the balls of a Sweet Gum tree next to my house. Native plants like Eastern Red Cedar, Poison Ivy, Eastern White Pine, Tulip Poplar, and various birches and goldenrods are favorite foods in my yard and beyond.
Their size and beak shape makes it easy for them to flutter in place while trying to grab insects on the undersides of leaves and the trunks of trees.
Nesting and Reproduction
Carolina Chickadees are cavity nesters and will excavate their own nest site in rotten or decaying wood. Nest site is in hole in tree, typically enlargement of small natural cavity in dead wood, sometimes old woodpecker hole or nesting box, usually 5-15' above the ground. In natural cavity, both sexes help excavate or enlarge the interior. They are one of the earlier songbird species to start nesting in March along with Carolina Wrens and Eastern Bluebirds.
Read also: South Carolina Weight Loss Guide
Pairs probably form in fall and remain together as part of winter flock. May mate for life. When flocks break up in late winter, pair establishes nesting territory. Nest Placement: Carolina Chickadees excavate or find an unused cavity, usually 2-25 feet up in a tree. When a territory is near a forest edge, half of all cavities used face the nearby clearing. Nest Description: Both members of a pair excavate a cavity or choose a cavity or nest box. Carolina Chickadees don’t seem to have a preference for nest boxes filled with or without sawdust. The female builds the nest base with moss and sometimes strips of bark. Then she adds a thick lining of hair and/or plant fibers. Nest (probably built by female) has foundation of bark strips or other matter, lining of softer material such as plant down and animal hair.
The Carolina Chickadee lays 5-8. White, with fine dots of reddish brown often concentrated around larger end. Clutch Size:3-10 eggsNumber of Broods:1 broodEgg Length:0.6 in (1.5 cm)Egg Width:0.4 in (1.1 cm)Egg Description:White with fine dots to small blotches of reddish brown. Incubation is probably by female only, 11-13 days. Incubation Period:12-15 days. Adult bird disturbed on nest makes loud hiss like that of a snake. Both parents feed nestlings. Young leave nest about 13-17 days after hatching. Nestling Period:16-19 days. Condition at Hatching:Naked except wisps of down on head, wings, and rump.
Social Behavior and Communication
Carolina Chickadees associate in flocks during winter. Each flock member has a rank; once spring arrives, the highest ranking individuals will nest within the flock’s territory; lower ranking birds must travel farther to successfully claim a territory and many don’t nest that season. Throughout the year, members of pairs, families, and flocks communicate with one another constantly. Nesting female Carolina Chickadees sleep in the nest cavity while males sleep in a nearby sheltered branch in a tree, vine, or shrub. The rest of the year, birds may sometimes sleep in sheltered branches; usually they sleep in cavities, some which they excavated, others which may be natural or excavated by woodpeckers. Carolina Chickadees sleep individually, but from night to night different members of a flock may sleep in the same cavity. They compete with Downy Woodpeckers, Brown Creepers, and Tufted Titmice for these cavities. Carolina Chickadees actively defend an individual space, keeping at least 2.2 feet, and sometimes at least 5 feet, between individuals; when two are closer than that, the dominant bird may make gargle calls. At feeders, each bird typically takes a seed and carries it to a branch somewhat isolated from other chickadees to eat. During migration and winter, other species associate with Carolina Chickadees, which are found with other species about 50 percent of the time. Tufted Titmice, which are dominant over them, are the most common flock associates. Black-capped Chickadees, Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned kinglets, Red-breasted, White-breasted and Brown-headed nuthatches, Brown Creepers, and Downy and Hairy woodpeckers tend to gravitate to these flocks, which are led by the Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, or both.
Conservation Status and Threats
Still common and widespread. Carolina Chickadees are common across their range, but populations declined by approximately 16% between 1966 and 2019, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.
In 2016, the conservation consortium Partners in Flight reported that the Carolina Chickadee population had undergone an estimated 11-percent decline from 1970 to 2014. Factors likely contributing to this slow but steady drop include habitat loss as well as the proliferation of invasive nonnative plants that crowd out or smother trees and shrubs important to this bird and its caterpillar food sources. Locally, overzealous pruning of street or backyard trees may cut supplies of natural cavities, reducing the number of available nest sites.
Read also: North Carolina Bariatric Surgery
How to Help Carolina Chickadees
If you live in the Southeast, you can help suburban Carolina Chickadees in several ways: First, you can plant or protect native trees that host many types of caterpillars. These include species of oak, cherry, and willow. Second, avoid using pesticides in your yard, ensuring your property is a safe zone not only for birds and caterpillars, but also bees and many other beneficial species. Third, ensure cats stay indoors, keeping chickadees and other birds safe from their most formidable nonnative predator. Fourth, take steps to reduce the chances of bird collisions with glass. birds. You can help shape these rules for the better by telling lawmakers to prioritize birds, bird habitat, and bird-friendly measures. To get started, visit ABC's Action Center.
The Importance of Native Plants
Carolina Chickadees can be found in wide variety of areas, but prefer habitats that have deciduous or mixed-deciduous with coniferous woodlands. Seeking Native Plants: For successful nesting, Carolina Chickadees need to gather large numbers of caterpillars and other invertebrates to stuff in the gaping mouths of their fast-growing young. Unfortunately, many suburban backyards prove to be "food deserts" for these birds. This is because many properties are landscaped with non-native trees and shrubs upon which few native invertebrates feed. A recent study indicates that Carolina Chickadee pairs in the Washington, D.C., area only bred successfully in suburban yards with a biomass of at least 70 percent native plants. Researchers noted how the birds avoided non-native plants, and prioritized visits to native oaks and other trees known to harbor large quantities of caterpillars. It's easy to understand why these little birds are so selective, if you consider that during their nestling period (16-19 days), one Carolina Chickadee pair was observed feeding their brood 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars.