Boreal Chickadee Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A small songbird with husky body and head, and a slim, rather long tail.

  Relative Size

  About the size of a Black-capped Chickadee.

  sparrow-sized or smaller

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 4.9-5.5 in (12.5-14 cm)
    • Weight: 0.3-0.4 oz (7-12.4 g)

  © Annie McLeod / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  A grayish brown bird with a rich brown cap, a small black bib, and small white cheek (gray at the rear). Whitish below, with pinkish buff sides.

• Behavior

  Forages agilely and restlessly among limbs and branches, with frequent acrobatic turns while perched; sometimes hover-gleans prey from tips of branches.
• Habitat

  Restricted largely to mature spruce-fir forests in Canada and some adjacent states.