Tits · Perching birds
Gray-headed Chickadee
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Poecile cinctus
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How to recognize it
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12–13.5 cm, smaller than willow tit and marsh tit
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Dark brown head, whitish cheeks, pale grey back
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Blackish bill, tail and bib; white underparts with rusty flanks
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Call like willow tit: "tsee-tsee"
About the species
Gray-headed Chickadee keeps to conifers and mixed northern woods, moving through branches with the quick, businesslike manner of a tit. The voice is close to a willow tit’s call, a short, simple note that carries through the trees.
It is a year-round resident across much of its range, so the same places can hold it in every season. In summer it takes insects and spiders, then shifts toward oily seeds in autumn and winter, especially from conifers.
It nests in tree holes, often low down, and may clear out bits of rotten wood before lining the site. Across subarctic Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska, and far northwest Canada, it stays tied to northern forest and does not migrate much.
Where to find
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In mature conifer parks and wooded squares — look along pines and spruces with cavities, where the Gray-headed Chickadee hunts insects and cone seeds.
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By quiet canal banks with grown willows or birches — its short call comes from lower branches and the canopy.
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In autumn and winter near feeders on the edge of conifer plantings — it darts in for seeds and rushes back to the trees.
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In riverside groves and along small streams — watch the lower branches, where it hops through twigs and probes bark.
You might also see
Sources
- eBird — Poecile cinctus Sightings map and full description on eBird
- Wikipedia — Grey-headed chickadee Encyclopedia article