Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Black Capped Chickadee


The black capped chickadee is a friendly and curious bird that is a joy to see as it fills the forest with a cherry "chick-a-dee-dee-dee which is oft repeated. It is the acrobat of birdland. When feeding in low trees and bushes, it hangs upside down and makes fancy maneuvers in dogged determination to find an insect or egg hidden in the crevices of bark and twigs. 

This bird:

  • can remember where it hid food for at least 28 days after putting it in its hiding place
  • drops its body temperature at night by 10 to 12°C below daytime body temperature, to conserve energy
  • depletes much of its energy by feeding nestlings from six to 14 times an hour
  • has a very established hierarchy, or “pecking order”

Its latin name is Parus atricapillus bartletti - named after a well known Arctic explorer and Newfoundlander, Captain R.A. Bartlett.


1 comment:

humain et terre said...

Hello!
I really like your chikadee picture. I paint watercolors and I am currently working on a projet: building a deck of cards with nature connection invitations on one side and animal paintings on the other site.

I turned your chikadee picture into a painting and would like to be able to make it a part of the deck. I would send you the painting if I had your e-mail adress.

Considering that my art work is inspired by yours, I feel like I should ask your permission. Do you authorise me to publish a deck of nature connection cards with a painting inspired by one of your pictures? Many thanks for getting back to me on this, Roxanne Côté