Mountain chickadee - Sierra Club BC
Skip to content
Mountain chickadee

CAN BE FOUND IN:

Mountain chickadee

Poecile gambeli

Appearance

Mountain chickadees look very similar to other chickadees. Their body is about the size of a tennis ball with a white belly, greyish wings and a black cap on their head. The main difference between mountain chickadees and other chickadees is the white eyebrow markings they have above their eyes.

Range & Habitat

Their range extends from Interior B.C. down into Southern California and east to the mountain ranges in western Texas. They live in mid to high elevations and make their homes in abandoned woodpecker holes in coniferous forests.

Reciprocal Relationships

Mountain chickadees like to feed on berries as well as insects and seeds. These birds are cavity nesters. This means that they make their homes in the abandoned cavities of dead trees. Creating new cavities in trees can take several weeks for these small birds. These birds really help to control insect populations and accelerate the decomposition process.

Their name comes from their call which can be heard throughout forested areas in B.C.: “chick-a-dee-dee-dee”. Living in alpine ecosystems can be very difficult, but it also inspires unique gifts for these birds. Mountain chickadees at higher elevations have bigger hippocampi (the part of our brain that regulates learning and memory) and therefore better memories of where they stashed their food.

Contrary to other birds, these chickadees will only lay one egg a day up to 12 days in a row. After approximately two weeks the chicks are hatched. During this period of incubation, the parents work together.

Threats to this species include clear-cutting mountain habitat, intense fires, and habitat loss due to urban development. 

Status

COSEWIC: Not Reported  
CDC: Yellow 

More Information

If you belong to a First Nation with a story or piece of information not represented here and you would like to share more about this species, please email us at education@sierraclub.bc.ca.

Photo Credit

Canva

Related Species

Filter by Taxonomy

Filter by EcoProvince

American Kestrel

American Kestrel

The American kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America and weighs only 3 or 4 ounces.

American White Pelican

American White Pelican

American white pelicans are some of the largest birds in North America. They hunt together, driving small schools of fish into each other’s bill pouches.

Arctic tern

Arctic tern

Arctic terns are unique birds with gifts of persistence and resourcefulness. These birds must fly great distances, and in doing so they have a diet with a variety of sea life.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Bald eagles are found all over B.C. and the U.S. The largest populations in North America live in B.C. and Alaska.

Banana Slug

Banana Slug

Banana slugs are important decomposers in our coastal rainforest. They are nocturnal feeders, eating decaying animals, mushrooms, and plants.

Beaver

Beaver

The beaver possesses many gifts! They are adept at swimming, building, and tree chomping.

Bighorn Sheep

Bighorn Sheep

The bighorn sheep are important primary consumers in the food chain. They are vegetarians, eating grasses, bushes and leaves.

Black and White Warbler

Black and White Warbler

These iconic Canadian birds are also called the ‘black and white creeper’ because they creep along tree trunks looking for tasty insects.

Black Bear

Black Bear

Black bears and Pacific salmon play an important part in maintaining our forest ecosystems.

Bocaccio Rockfish

Bocaccio Rockfish

Bocaccio rockfish are important consumers. These fish eat smaller fish such as anchovies, mackerel, squid and other rockfish.

Bonaparte's Gull

Bonaparte's Gull

These gulls nest in large numbers and produce two to three eggs at a time. These gulls are gifted with agility.

Boreal Chickadee

Boreal Chickadee

Boreal chickadees are an important indicator species of boreal ecosystems!