The Mountain Chickadee, Poecile gambeli, is an inquisitive - seemingly friendly small bird in the Paridae family (Chickadees and Tits).

They are superficially very similar to the Black-capped Chickadee. At times, the white line above the eye may be a bit hard to see and you could miss the identification.

They tend to live at higher elevations than the Black-capped Chickcadees, but may occur in mixed flocks.

They live throughout the far western part  of Canada and the United Sates.

Classification:

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Genus: Poecile
Species: P. gambeli

My photos:

Mountain Chickadee - Poecile gambeli

Mountain Chickadee - Okanogan County, Washington State, USA - Taken 1/21/2009

Mountain Chickadee - Poecile gambeli

Mountain Chickadee - Okanogan County, Washington State, USA - Taken 1/21/2009

Mountain Chickadee - Poecile gambeli

Mountain Chickadee - Okanogan County, Washington State, USA - Taken 1/21/2009

Mountain Chickadee - Poecile gambeli

Mountain Chickadee - Okanogan County, Washington State, USA - Taken 1/21/2009 

Photos:

Mountain Chickadee

"A little Mountain Chickadee, seen when I took part in the Sheep River/Turner Valley Christmas Bird Count on 31st December 2007."

Photo courtesy of annkelliott

Mountain Chickadee

"Landers Meadow is a rather special place along the Piute Mountain Road in the southernmost portion of the Sequoia National Forest. The wildflowers and butterflies made the visit special, and this juvenile Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli) added further charm to our visit. (Must admit I used PSE to "remove" a branch that crossed in front diagonally from lower right(see tail) to upper left. Bird almost totally backlit, which helps preserve detail in the white areas. The Mountain Chickadee is a bird of the western mountains, from Canada down to where we were in Kern County, and a bit further south in New Mexico and Arizona. Easily distinguished from other chickadees by the white stripe above the eye (supercilliary). Close relative of the Black-capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapilla) which barely makes it to northernmost Califronia. Order: Passeriformes - Perching birds/Songbirds Family:Paridae - Chickadees and Titmice - Worldwide group, mostly Northern Hemisphere, with 53 species in 12 genera. 11 species in 2 genera breed in the U.S. (A. Humann, Sibley Guide to Bird Life). Genus: Poecile - The Chickadees and Tits. "Poecile" means many-colored, or as here "pied". Most Eurasian species are referred to as "tits". Currently about 14 species, 7 of them see in the U.S./Canada. Previously some were in the larger genus of Parus. Species: Poecile gambeli - Mountain Chickadee. William Gambell (1823-1849) was a protege of Thomas Nuttall, and became known for his excellent papers written on western birds, not to mention flora (Gambell’s Oak). He is memorialized by not only Poecile gambeli, but also by Gambel’s Quail (Callipepla gambelli) and Gambell’s (White-crowned) Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii). He was the first to discover Nuttall’s Woodpecker, as well as a number of other species of animals. Died of Typhoid Fever at the age of 26. See Mearns’ fascinating account of Gambell’s short but bright career in "Audubon to Xantus"."

Photo courtesy of  Len Blumin

Mountain Chickadee FEB03

Mountain Chickadees were common and nested in the boxes we set out. We had bluebirds, White-breasted Nuthatches, Ash-throated Flycatchers, Juniper Titmice and Mountain Chickadees rear their young in the boxes; a Say’s Phoebe nested on a ledge we constructed on our porch.

Photo courtesy of  kenschneiderusa

Mountain Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

Photo courtesy of  jonclark2000

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