Canis lupus hominis

Posted in birds | Tagged black-capped chickadee, Carolina chickadee, chickadee | 10 Comments

10 Responses

1. on February 15, 2013 at 4:36 pm massugu

   The big difference is the coloring on the sides–the Black-capped having buff-colored sides while the Carolina is pretty much monochrome. However since the two do hybridize where their ranges overlap, you can expect a good bit of variation. Their calls are slightly different (though similar) as well.

   
   
2. on February 16, 2013 at 7:13 am bearcoatpei

   I’ve heard the name and use it as a term of endearment to the dogs. But I never knew what they looked like or that they are related to our British tits (har har – is there any way of mentioning those birds without sounding comical).

   
   
   • on February 16, 2013 at 7:23 am retrieverman

     We have tits here. The tufted titmouse is one I’m trying to photograph today.

     
     
   • on February 16, 2013 at 7:27 am retrieverman

     There is a debate among ornithologists about whether they are tits or just related to them.

     
     
3. on February 16, 2013 at 3:34 pm chervilmeadow34

   I wonder if your tufted titmouse is similar to our crested tit, found here only in the scots pines of the north of Scotland.
   On the general subject of these tits, we in England keep them in fair abundance via feeding stations and nest boxes, with the latter being bought here in huge numbers from garden centres. The tits are delightful to watch especially at this time of year. The species called the long tailed tit is I believe not so closely related to the other species: the great tit, blue tit, coal tit, marsh tit and aforementioned crested tit. The longtails also don’t breed in tree holes and nest boxes, rather they make a neat cylindrical nest of moss and hair in a bush; having a front and rear entrance to accomodate the long tail ‘economically’ without having to extend the whole nest for it, that is.

   
   
4. on February 16, 2013 at 3:38 pm chervilmeadow34

   I wonder, does the tufted titmouse resemble our crested tit, a bird which in Britain lives only in the Caledonian forset of Scotland, feeding off the Scots pines?

   
   
5. on February 16, 2013 at 3:41 pm chervilmeadow

   I wonder, does the tufted titmouse resemble the crested tit, a species only found here in the Caledonian Forest of northern Scotland, wher it feeds off scots pine seeds?

   
   
6. on February 16, 2013 at 3:52 pm chervilmeadow

   Most of our British resident tit species are related and nest in tree holes or garden nest boxes. Their numbers are (thankfully) artificially bolstered through these boxes and through garden feeding stations. A fairly common exception is the long tailed tit, which makes its neat nest of moss and hair in a bush. This nest has a front and a rear entrance, the latter to accomodate the long tail without having to make an oversized nest just for that reason.

   
   
7. on February 16, 2013 at 3:59 pm chervilmeadow

   I do apologise for repetition; for some technical reason, I suppose, the first efforts to comment didn’t seem to get through – until eventually they did.

   
   
   • on February 16, 2013 at 6:15 pm massugu

     Here’s a site w/ a photo of the Tufted Titmouse (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/id), which do indeed flock to our feeders. Both they and the chickadees use our nesting boxes in the summer. The main drawback to this being the House Wren (a very territorial egg breaker) and black snakes, which are excellent climbers.

     We have to be extremely accurate when drilling entrances in the nesting boxes so as to exclude the more pestiferous species (such as Starlings) from the boxes–our beloved Bluebirds are also cavity nesters and are often evicted by Starlings and House Wrens.

     
     

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