Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Poecile rufescens (Townsend, JK, 1837)

9.4 gWeight

The chestnut-backed chickadee (Poecile rufescens) is a small passerine bird in the tit family, native to western North America.

Busiest months: September · Most records: United States, Canada

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Chestnut-backed Chickadee has been recorded at 118 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 2 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Discovery ParkUnited States10,091 records
  2. Pt. Reyes Bird Observatory – PalomarinUnited States9,915 records
  3. Victoria – Swan Lake Nature SanctuaryCanada9,639 records
More places
  1. Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWRUnited States7,575 records
  2. Rocky Point Bird ObservatoryCanada7,524 records
  3. Mt. Tabor ParkUnited States6,807 records
  4. Marymoor ParkUnited States5,858 records
  5. Rodeo LagoonUnited States5,400 records
  6. Natural Bridges SBUnited States5,295 records
  7. 230 Goward RdCanada5,219 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United StatesCanada

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The chestnut-backed chickadee (Poecile rufescens) is a small passerine bird in the tit family, native to western North America.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Chestnut-backed Chickadee?

The Chestnut-backed Chickadee weighs around 9.4 g.

Where does the Chestnut-backed Chickadee live?

Its breeding range: North America: western. It is most often recorded in United States and Canada.

When is the best time to see the Chestnut-backed Chickadee?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in September (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Chestnut-backed Chickadee endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Chestnut-backed Chickadee as Least Concern.

What does the Chestnut-backed Chickadee eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Chestnut-backed Chickadee in?

It belongs to the family Tits, Chickadees (Paridae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Weight
9.4 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
61 mm
Tail
47 mm
Bill
11 mm
Tarsus
16 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

North America: western

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Tits, Chickadees Paridae
Genus
Poecile

Other birds in the genus Poecile

White-browed TitWhite-browed TitPoecile superciliosusSombre TitSombre TitPoecile lugubrisGrey-headed ChickadeeGrey-headed ChickadeePoecile cinctusBoreal ChickadeeBoreal ChickadeePoecile hudsonicusMexican ChickadeeMexican ChickadeePoecile sclateriCarolina ChickadeeCarolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensisBlack-capped ChickadeeBlack-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillusMountain ChickadeeMountain ChickadeePoecile gambeliPere David's TitPere David's TitPoecile davidiBlack-bibbed TitBlack-bibbed TitPoecile hypermelaenusMarsh TitMarsh TitPoecile palustrisSichuan TitSichuan TitPoecile weigoldicus
Chestnut-backed Chickadee

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Maggie.Smith. ↗

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