Poecile atricapillus

The black-capped chickadee is one of the most familiar backyard feeder birds. It is a very small songbird with a distinctive black cap and the familiar "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" call that gives it its name.

A recent study found that the chickadee describes danger to its flock by the number of "dee-dee-dees" it uses at the end of its call. A warning about a hawk or a cat may have many "dees" added to a call warning of danger.

The black-capped chickadee loves black-oil sunflower seed, which is rich in oil and has a high fat content and energy value, especially in winter when the birds are trying to keep their half-ounce bodies warm.

Watch a feeding chickadee this winter and notice its particular foraging behavior. The chickadee will take a sunflower seed from a feeder and fly to a nearby branch. It will grasp the seed between its toes and hammer it open with its sharp, pointed bill. It will repeat this process throughout the day.

Black-capped chickadees gather in mixed foraging flocks during winter. These foraging flocks of juncos, downy woodpeckers, nuthatches and a variety of sparrows, benefit from the additional eyes seeking food while watching for danger.

Chickadees are cavity nesters and are easily attracted to an artificial nest box. They cache food in a variety of backyard hideouts for later use.

You can note the band on the left leg of the black-capped chickadee photographed in my backyard. Banding birds helps advance our understanding of habitat needs, migration and other factors in bird ecology.

Bill Fenimore is owner of the Layton Wild Bird Center (www.wildbird.com/layton), author of Backyard Birds of Utah, and a member of the Utah Wildlife Board.