Scientific Name: Poecile rufescens
Diet: The Chestnut-Backed Chickadee eats a variety of bugs including spiders, caterpillars, leaf hoppers, aphids, and wasps. They also eat berries and conifer seeds.
Habitat: Chestnut-Backed Chickadees inhabit wet and dense Pacific rain forests where they glean bugs from leaves and tree bark.
Sound: The Chestnut-Backed Chickadee’s call is a high-pitched See-see, See-see, mixed with Chee-chee. The Chestnut-Backed Chickadees other call is a gruff Chicka-dee or Chicka-dee-dee.
Nesting: Chestnut-Backed Chickadees breed from mid-May to early April. They may excavate their own nest holes, use old woodpecker holes, use nesting boxs, or use natural cavities. The nest takes 7 to 8 days to build, and it is made of bark strips, moss, and lichen, and lined with animal hair. Chestnut-Backed Chickadees lay 5 to 7 eggs, and incubate them for 12 to 18 days. The eggs are creamy white and lightly speckled. The young Chestnut-Backed Chickadees eat mainly caterpillars and wasp larvae.
Description/field marks: Chestnut-Backed Chickadees are small birds. They are about 4 to 5 inches long, and have a wingspan of about 7 inches, which is a bit smaller than Black-Capped Chickadees. They have white breasts, undersides, and cheeks, and have black caps and throats. Chestnut-Backed Chickadees have chestnut colored flanks and backs, and their wings and tails are gray.
How to attract: To attract Chestnut-Backed Chickadees to your backyard put out a suet feeder or seed feeder. Chestnut-Backed Chickadees also use nest boxes so put one out in March.
Chestnut-Backed Chickadee