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Mountain Chickadee
Scientific Name:
Poecile gambeli
Type:
Bird
Habitat:
Conifer mountain forests at higher elevations
Range:
Western part of North America including northern and central Nevada
Status:
Least Concern (IUCN Red List)
This species is
NATIVE
to the Truckee Meadows.
Identification:
Mountain chickadees are small, gray and white birds with black throats and black and white heads. Mountain chickadees are distinguished from other chickadees by the white eyebrow feathers above their eyes.They travel together in small flocks. Mountain chickadees will hang upside down in trees to get at food. The bill shape and size of the Mountain chickadee will vary depending on the region in which they live.
Fast Facts:
Mountain chickadees have several calls and songs. One of their calls sounds like they are singing out in a high pitch, “cheese-bur-ger.”
Mountain chickadees are fed by cross country skiers and snowshoers in the Tahoe Meadows. Letting them land on you to be fed is not recommended.
These birds are known to live and seek food at lower elevations during the winter. During the warmer months, mountain chickadees eat insects and in the colder months they eat the seeds of the conifers.
Mountain chickadees are found in most parks along the western foothills of the Truckee Meadows.
Sources:
National Audubon Society, Bird Guide, Mountain Chickadee, site 2021. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/mountain-chickadee
Cornell Ornithology Lab, All About Birds, Mountain Chickadee, site 2021. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Chickadee#
IUCN Red List, Mountain Chickadee, Last assessed 2016. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22711724/118689035
Image: dfaulder, https://www.flickr.com/photos/dfaulder/32222648740, license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, cropped from original.
Contributor(s):
Caron Tayloe (research & content)
Alex Shahbazi (edits & page design)