Includes Gambel's Chickadee and Bailey’s Chickadee
- Poecile gambeli
Identification
13-15 cm. White eyebrow, brown flanks.
Distribution
From British Columbia south to the Mexican border; east to Colorado.
Taxonomy
This is a polytypic species[1] consisting of 6 subspecies.
Subspecies
- P. g. gambeli
Rocky Mountains (Montana to Wyoming, New Mexico and southwest Texas)
- P. g. wasatchensis
Coniferous forests of southern Idaho and Utah
- P. g. inyoensis
Great Basin (southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho to western Utah and east-central California)
- P. g. abbreviatus
South Western Canada and coastal ranges of northern California
- P. g. baileyae
Sierra Nevada of southern California
- P. g. atratus
Mountains of northern Baja California
A study shows genetic divisions within this species possibly indicating a future split. Such a split has now been proposed, leading to:
- Gambel's Chickadee (Poecile gambeli) from British Columbia and Alberta through Rocky Mts and Great Basin to Arizona, New Mexico and Texas
- Bailey’s Chickadee (Poecile baileyae) from Cascade Mountains of Washington through Sierra Nevada to Baja California
The Opus is waiting for the position of the world wide checklists
Habitat
Mountain forest.
Behaviour
Diet includes seeds and insects.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Paper describing genetic findings with this species
- Birdforum thread discussing proposal to split Mountain Chickadee and other splits
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
