Species · GBIF taxon 2487793
Boreal Chickadee
Poecile hudsonicusAlso known as Hudsonian Chickadee
Boreal chickadees are hardy, brown-capped songbirds that thrive in the dense spruce and fir forests of the far north. Unlike their more common black-capped relatives, these quiet foragers rely on a rich coat of insulating feathers and a remarkable spatial memory to survive sub-zero winters. They spend autumn caching thousands of seeds and insect pupae behind loose bark to sustain themselves when snow blankets the landscape.
SongbirdHardyForest Dweller
Licensed referenceDavid Mitchell / CC BY 2.0 · cc-by
- diet
- Insects, spiders, conifer seeds, and berries
- family
- Paridae
- threats
- Habitat loss from logging, climate change shifting boreal boundaries
- life Span
- 2 to 5 years
LC
Safe to observe at a normal distance.
- Listen closely: Listen for their distinctive, husky 'tseek-a-dee-dee' call, which is slower and buzzier than other chickadees.
- Look high: Scan the inner branches of mature spruce and balsam fir trees where they quietly forage.
- Offer suet: Attract them to winter feeding stations in northern areas using high-energy suet and sunflower seeds.