The Carolina chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is largely found in the Southern United States.
Taxonomy
The Carolina chickadee was often placed in the genus Parus with most other tits, but mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data and morphology suggest that separating Poecile more adequately expresses these birds' relationships. The American Ornithologists' Union has been treating Poecile as distinct genus since 1998. Although it and the black-capped chickadee most likely diverged about 2.5 million years ago, the birds still hybridize in the areas where their ranges overlap. The offspring of mated pairs of hybrid chickadees suffer from lower hatching success, and a male bias sex ratio, consistent with Haldane's rule.
Description
Adults are long with a weight of , and have a black cap and bib with white sides to the face. Their underparts are white with rusty brown on the flanks; their back is gray. They have a short dark bill, short wings and a moderately long tail. Very similar to the black-capped chickadee, the Carolina chickadee is distinguished by the slightly browner wing with the greater coverts brown (not whitish fringed) and the white fringing on the secondary feathers slightly less conspicuous; the tail is also slightly shorter and more square-ended. Without calls, visual distinction between the two species is very difficult even with an excellent view.
Eggs are about 1.5 cm (0.6 in) long and 1.1 cm (0.4 in) wide. Eggs are white with areas of reddish-brown ranging from dots to small blotches.
The origin of this bird name is onomatopoeic, a vocal imitation of its call. Native Americans called it tsi’kilili’. In English the sound was rendered as chickadee-dee-dee.
Distribution and habitat
thumb|240px|A Carolina chickadee cavity nest site, previously made by a [[red-bellied woodpecker]]
Their breeding habitat is mixed or deciduous forests in the United States from New Jersey and Pennsylvania west to southern Kansas and south to Florida and Texas; there is a gap in the range at high altitudes in the Appalachian Mountains where they are replaced by their otherwise more northern relative, the black-capped chickadee.
They are permanent residents, not usually moving south even in severe winter weather.
Stories and customs
The Carolina chickadee is recognized in Native American oral traditions as a news bringer and truth teller. Its presence and song appear in many stories as a harbinger of reconnection with an absent friend, or of impending trouble from a covert adversary.