Is there any way to visually differentiate Carolina and Black-capped Chickadees? (1 Viewer)

[howiewu]

HI, greetings!

I understand the most reliable way to tell apart these birds is by their songs.

Problem is, I am not very good with bird songs/calls. Actually this is the case where I can tell the difference. But another problem is I usually go out a take some photos, then some time later I go through my pictures and I forget what I heard at the time

For example, I took the attached picture today in Northern Virgina. In this case I am pretty sure it is a Carolina Chickadee. But how am I supposed to tell if I only have the picture to look at?

TIA,
Howard

 

[grebefeet9]

i couldn't tell you from this picture, but the black-capped chickadee has more white in the folded wing that shows a "hockey stick" shape.

 

[Tiraya]

The Black-capped usually has a noticeable buffy tinge to its flanks. In the Carolina its completely pale underneath. You can see that in Grebefeet's images above. (Left bird has buffy flanks = Black-capped)

 

[birding maniac]

Carolina has grey centres to the greater coverts and black capped has black centres and broader pale fringes.

 

[howiewu]

Thanks for the info!

 

[jmepler]

The problem with northern Virginia, like southern Pennsylvania where I am, is that you are in the overlap zone between the Carolina and Black-capped ranges.

In this area their call is not always reliable either as they will learn each others calls as well as hybridizing.

There is a good guide to identification here.

Mike

 

[howiewu]

Thanks, Mike, this guide is very useful (though in the field I think they are still difficult to tell apart even with all this information!).

 

[Jim M.]

The Black-capped usually has a noticeable buffy tinge to its flanks. In the Carolina its completely pale underneath. You can see that in Grebefeet's images above. (Left bird has buffy flanks = Black-capped)

It's a supporting field mark but the difference is not quite so stark. As the site Mike links to explains:

[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The cinnamon-buff coloring under the wings is less developed on the Carolina Chickadee (but fresh adults in the northeast part of its range show brighter cinnamon and can be confused with Black-capped).[/FONT]

​

Jim

 

[howiewu]

Hi, Jim and Mike --

Generally I think Carolinas are the ones we see in NoVa; I consulted several bird books, it seems like the Black-cappeds range is mostly restricted to higher elevations in this area (such as the Appalachians). Their calls and songs generally support this, although I understand bird ranges do fluctuate.

On a side note: aren't these two species so close that they almost seem two sub-species within a species, or even two races?

Howard

 

[Microtus]

Hi, Jim and Mike --

Generally I think Carolinas are the ones we see in NoVa; I consulted several bird books, it seems like the Black-cappeds range is mostly restricted to higher elevations in this area (such as the Appalachians). Their calls and songs generally support this, although I understand bird ranges do fluctuate.

On a side note: aren't these two species so close that they almost seem two sub-species within a species, or even two races?

Howard

The normal chickadee (by appearance) in northern Virginia is Carolina, until you get to where the western side of the Shenandoah Valley meets the first ridges. The normal chickadee around Capon Bridge, WV, is Black-capped. In winter, Black-capped Chickadees can wander away from their breeding range and east (or south, if they are coming from Pennsylvania) into the range of Carolina Chickadee. In the immediate Virginia environs of Washington, DC, Black-capped Chickadee is rarely seen.

 

[Jim M.]

Hi, Jim and Mike --

Generally I think Carolinas are the ones we see in NoVa; I consulted several bird books, it seems like the Black-cappeds range is mostly restricted to higher elevations in this area (such as the Appalachians). Their calls and songs generally support this, although I understand bird ranges do fluctuate.

On a side note: aren't these two species so close that they almost seem two sub-species within a species, or even two races?

Howard

In NoVa near DC most birders just assume a chickadee is Carolina unless they notice a reason to think otherwise.

Here is a random grab from the internet on the relatedness of BCCH & Carolina:

Two Chickadee species are known to hybridize with the Black-capped: Carolina Chickadee and Mountain Chickadee. Mitochondrial DNA evidence suggests that the Black-capped and Mountain are sister species but hybrids are not common. Carolina and Black-capped were thought to be conspecifics (belonging to the same species) but have been shown to actually be seperate species. Black-cappes and Carolina hybrids are more common.(Poole,A.F. et al 1992) These two species share a common ancestor 1-2 million years ago(mya). Based on mDNA evidence the Black-capped Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse share a common ancestor about 21/2 to 4 1/2 mya (Mack, A.L, et al 1986). Mountain Chickadees are thought to be Black-capped Chickadees closest relative despite the more similar appearance of the Carolina Chickadee.
​

 

[howiewu]

Hi, experts:

I think in fact today I got a positively identified black-capped chickadee.

The location is Shenandoah National Park so this matches its range. At the time they did not make any calls, and I only managed to take a couple of pictures. One thing I noticed also was that there were no tufted titmice in this small flock (maybe 5-6 birds; not sure if this means anything).

It seems to me this one matches grebefeet9's first picture and the descriptions grebefeet9 and Silverwolf gave (more white in the folded wing, buffy tinge to flanks). What do you guys think?

TIA,
Howard

 

[birding maniac]

If the GCs are a feature, I think this is CArolina- the Greater Coverts look all ggrey, with no black as in BCC.

 

[snowyowl]

I think that this is a Carolina. My guide books point out that the transition from rear of the white cheek patch is cleaner for a BCCH . I believe that the had of a CACH is smaller in proportion to the body than the head of a BCCH and your picture gives me that impression.

 

[howiewu]

Hi, thanks for the info. This is a great learning experience for me; I guess I will just keep looking (and taking pictures )

 

[howiewu]

For completeness, I am adding 2 more pictures of the same bird I took yesterday (Dec 26, 2011) in Shenandoah NP.