"That whimsical fellow called Evolution, having enlarged the dinosaur until he tripped over own toes, tried shrinking the chickadee until he was just too big to be snapped up by flycatchers as an insect, and just too little to be pursued by hawks and owls as meat. Then he regarded his handiwork and laughed. Everyone laughs at so small a bundle of large enthusiasms."from A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold
We get those little guys here, more visible during the winter. A few years back I heard a thwack and looked out and there on the deck a chickadee was sitting, stunned after hitting the patio door. He stayed for an hour and then flew off to join his friends.
ReplyDeleteRobert, I expect you have black capped chickadees up your way. I identified the bird in the picture as a Carolina chickadee based on range not appearance. The two species are nearly indistinguishable--even the chickadees get confused and sometimes produce black capped/Carolina hybrids.
ReplyDeleteAldo Leopold lived in Wisconsin, so he would have been talking about black capped chickadees. He took great interest in these birds and for many years banded most of the chickadees on his farm and tracked them over the seasons. He documented one hardy chickadee who survived five winters.
Just checked my "Golden Field Guide for Birds of North America" and yes you are right it was a black-capped chickadee. Thanks Edd.
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