Black Capped Chickadee Cute Songbird Thermal Tumbler

A nature photo of an endearing little black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), once repeated. Talkative birds, chickadees have a vast repertoire of chirps, trills, melodies and other vocalizations. They're best known for their danger call -- "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" -- with the number of "dee's" indicating the severity of the perceived threat. If you start feeding chickadees they'll "dee" at you four to six times but it doesn't take long before they see you're harmless (you're harmless, right?), and they just give you a cheerful chirp in greeting. Chickadees are among the most intelligent and friendly of the small songbirds. In native culture, chickadees are known as truth birds or the tellers of truth. They let everyone know if they see hidden danger, and also if they've found food. Very generous! Chickadees often hang out with other birds such as blue jays, nuthatches and woodpeckers. House sparrows might be around the fringes but they're not really invited, just crashing the party in hopes that the chickadee finds food. Chickadees pair off in early spring and the female takes all the responsibility for building the nest and incubating the eggs. The tiny female can lay up to thirteen eggs. The male feeds her and works security detail. This is about the only time you can tell the difference between male and female black-capped chickadees - the female bird is the one with the nest fluff in her mouth. When the chicks hatch, both parents feed and care for them. Despite their tiny size and delicate look, chickadees are tough survivors. They are one of the few birds who can lower their body temperature during cold winter nights so they need less energy to stay alive. This state of torpor is rare in birds. Whip-poor-wills and some hummingbirds can also achieve it. Black-capped chickadees are native to North America, and popular visitors at bird feeders in winter. Cute wild bird photo by M Sylvia Chaume. Happy blessings!