MarkGelbart
Well-known member
I was recently researching the scientific literature about chickadees for my latest blog post (https://markgelbart.wordpress.com/2016/03/27/pleistocene-chickadees/ )
I was curious about the evolutionary history of chickadees.
I was surprised to learn that Carolina chickadees and black-capped chickadees are not sister species, even though they look so similar and hybridize in regions where they overlap.
Carolina chickadees are a sister species with the Mexican chickadee, suggesting the ancestor of the former moved up a Gulf Coast corridor to colonize southeastern North America.
Black-capped chickadees are a sister species with the mountain chickadee.
I've also made a discovery about the local song of the Carolina chickadee. I live in Augusta, Georgia far from the hybrid zone, but the Carolina chickadees in my neighborhood utilize both the 4 note song and the 2 note song.
Just yesterday, while I was jogging, I heard a Carolina chickadee make the 2 note song of a black-capped chickadee for about 3 minutes before switching over to its 4 note song.
I was curious about the evolutionary history of chickadees.
I was surprised to learn that Carolina chickadees and black-capped chickadees are not sister species, even though they look so similar and hybridize in regions where they overlap.
Carolina chickadees are a sister species with the Mexican chickadee, suggesting the ancestor of the former moved up a Gulf Coast corridor to colonize southeastern North America.
Black-capped chickadees are a sister species with the mountain chickadee.
I've also made a discovery about the local song of the Carolina chickadee. I live in Augusta, Georgia far from the hybrid zone, but the Carolina chickadees in my neighborhood utilize both the 4 note song and the 2 note song.
Just yesterday, while I was jogging, I heard a Carolina chickadee make the 2 note song of a black-capped chickadee for about 3 minutes before switching over to its 4 note song.
