Black-capped or Carolina?

By Aaron Horrell

We have two kinds of chickadees in North America. The Black-capped chickadee has a northern year-round range that does not reach into southeast Missouri, but does come as close as central Missouri. The Carolina chickadee has a southern year-round range that does include southeast Missouri.

Chickadees do migrate and in some places the two birds have overlapping ranges. The two are very similar in size, coloration and lively animation. This makes them sometimes difficult to discern. Sometimes the two species will inter-mate, with offspring taking on characteristics of both.

The chickadee I have photographed here seems to have the larger eye and slightly longer beak of the Carolina Chickadee. It also has a whiter accented tail and buffer colored underside indicative of a black-capped chickadee. It did not have an accompanying mate and was not flying with a small flock as is often the case during winter.

I am not a qualified birder, so I can not say with specificity if this is a crossbreed or not. I do have fun observing nature though and can say that almost all chickadees I have photographed or seen in the wilds of southeast Missouri have white undersides.