Poecile
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Poecile
''Poecile'' is a genus of birds in the tit family Paridae. It contains 15 species, which are scattered across North America, Europe and Asia; the North American species are the chickadees. In the past, most authorities retained ''Poecile'' as a subgenus within the genus ''Parus'', but treatment as a distinct genus, initiated by the American Ornithologists Union, is now widely accepted. This is supported by mtDNA cytochrome ''b'' sequence analysis. The genus ''Poecile'' was erected by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The type species was subsequently designated as the marsh tit (''Poecile palustris'') by English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1842. The name ''Poecile'' is from Ancient Greek ''poikilos'' "colourful". A related word ''poikilidos'' denoted an unidentified small bird. It has traditionally been treated as feminine (giving name endings such as ''cincta''); however, this was not specified by the original genus author Johann Jakob Kaup, and under the ...
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Willow Tit
The willow tit (''Poecile montanus'') is a passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and across the Palearctic. The plumage is grey-brown and off-white with a black cap and bib. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related marsh tit, which explains it breeding much further north. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate. Taxonomy The willow tit was described in 1827 by the Swiss naturalist Thomas Conrad von Baldenstein under the trinomial name ''Parus cinereus montanus''. The type locality is the mountain forests in the Canton of Grisons, Switzerland. The willow tit is now placed in the genus '' Poecile'' that was erected by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The genus name, ''Poecile'', is the Ancient Greek name for a now unidentifiable small bird, and the specific ''montanus'' is Latin for "of the mountains". ''Poecile'' was at one time treated as ...
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Tit (bird)
The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute the Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and Africa. Most were formerly classified in the genus ''Parus''. Members of this family are commonly referred to as "tits" throughout much of the English speaking world, but North American species are called either "chickadees" (onomatopoeic, derived from their distinctive "chick-a dee dee dee" alarm call) or "titmice". The name titmouse is recorded from the 14th century, composed of the Old English name for the bird, ''mase'' (Proto-Germanic ''*maison'', Dutch ''mees'', German ''Meise''), and tit, denoting something small. The former spelling, "titmose", was influenced by ''mouse'' in the 16th century. Emigrants to New Zealand presumably identified some of the superficially similar birds of the genus ''Petroica'' of the family Petroicidae, the Australian robins, as members of the tit family, giving them the title tomtit, although, in ...
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Paridae
The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute the Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and Africa. Most were formerly classified in the genus ''Parus''. Members of this family are commonly referred to as "tits" throughout much of the English speaking world, but North American species are called either "chickadees" (onomatopoeic, derived from their distinctive "chick-a dee dee dee" alarm call) or "titmice". The name titmouse is recorded from the 14th century, composed of the Old English name for the bird, ''mase'' (Proto-Germanic ''*maison'', Dutch ''mees'', German ''Meise''), and tit, denoting something small. The former spelling, "titmose", was influenced by ''mouse'' in the 16th century. Emigrants to New Zealand presumably identified some of the superficially similar birds of the genus ''Petroica'' of the family Petroicidae, the Australian robins, as members of the tit family, giving them the title tomtit, although, in ...
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Black-capped Chickadee
The black-capped chickadee (''Poecile atricapillus'') is a small, non-migratory, North American songbird that lives in deciduous and mixed forests. It is a passerine bird in the tit family, the Paridae. It is the state bird of Massachusetts and Maine in the United States, and the provincial bird of New Brunswick in Canada. It is well known for its ability to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (sometimes feeding from the hand). Taxonomy In 1760, French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the black-capped chickadee in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen collected in Canada. He used the French name and the Latin ''Parus Canadensis Atricapillus''. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the b ...
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Mountain Chickadee
The mountain chickadee (''Poecile gambeli'') is a small songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. Taxonomy The specific name honors naturalist William Gambel. The mountain chickadee was formerly placed in the genus ''Parus'' with most other tits, but mtDNA cytochrome ''b'' sequence data and morphology suggest that separating ''Poecile'' more adequately expresses these birds' relationships. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the mountain chickadee is sister to the black-capped chickadee (''Poecile atricapillus''). Description Adults of both sexes have a black cap joining a black postocular stripe behind distinctive white eyebrows. Their backs and flanks are gray and they have paler gray underparts; they have a short black bill, and a black bib. The typical adult wingspan is , and the overall length is . The Mountain Chickadee is one of 55 species of Chickadees and Tits. The mountain chickadee can be distinguished from other North American chickadees ...
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Chestnut-backed Chickadee
The chestnut-backed chickadee (''Poecile rufescens''), formerly ''Parus rufescens'', is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is found in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and western Canada, from southern Alaska to southwestern California. It is a permanent resident within its range, with some seasonal movements as feeding flocks move short distances in search of food. They usually move to lower elevations in the same area upon onset of winter and move back up to higher elevations in late summer. Chickadees are able to use nocturnal hypothermia to regulate energy expenditure, allowing them to survive harsh winters where other bird species not utilizing thermal regulation would not be able to. Some estimates put the energy conserved while using nocturnal hypothermia all the way up to 32%. It is a small chickadee, long with a weight of . The head is dark blackish-brown with white cheeks, the mantle is bright rufous-brown, the wing feathers are dark gray ...
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Chickadee
The chickadees are a group of North American birds in the tit family included in the genus '' Poecile''. Species found in North America are referred to as chickadees, while other species in the genus are called tits. They are small-sized birds overall, usually having the crown of the head and throat patch distinctly darker than the body. They are at least 6 to 14 centimeters (2.4 to 5.5 inches) in size. Their name reputedly comes from the fact that their calls make a distinctive "chick-a-dee-dee-dee", though their normal call is actually "fee-bee," and the "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" call is an alarm call. The number of "dees" depends on the predator. The chickadee (specifically the black-capped chickadee ''Poecile atricapillus'', formerly ''Parus atricapillus'') is the official bird for the US states of Massachusetts and Maine, the Canadian province of New Brunswick, and the city of Calgary, Alberta. One holarctic species is referred to by a different name in each part of its ra ...
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Grey-headed Chickadee
The grey-headed chickadee or Siberian tit (''Poecile cinctus''), formerly ''Parus cinctus'', is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread resident breeder throughout subarctic Scandinavia and the northern Palearctic, and also into North America in Alaska and the far northwest of Canada. It is a conifer specialist. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate. Curiously (with respect to its name), the bird has no grey on its head, which is black, white, and brown. It is a fairly large tit, 13.5–14 cm long with a weight of 11–14.3 g. The head is dark brown with white cheeks, the mantle brown, the wing feathers blackish with pale fringes, and the underparts whitish with pale brown flanks. Ecologists in Folldal, Hedmark, Norway found that the Siberian tits accounted for only 1% of all tit individuals in lichen-dominated pine forest in 2011 as opposed to 64% in 1982. This dramatic reduction is attributed to the interspecies competition with the willow ...
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Mexican Chickadee
The Mexican chickadee (''Poecile sclateri'') is a small songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is still often placed in the genus ''Parus'' with most other tits, but mtDNA cytochrome ''b'' sequence data and morphology suggest that separating ''Poecile'' more adequately expresses these birds' relationships (Gill ''et al.'', 2005). The American Ornithologists' Union had been treating ''Poecile'' as distinct genus for some time already. Adults are 12.5–13.5 cm long with a wingspan of 18–21 cm and a weight of 7.5–11 g. Both sexes have a black cap, white cheeks, and a short black bill. Their backs and flanks are gray and they have paler grayish underparts. Similar in appearance to the black-capped chickadee and mountain chickadee, the Mexican chickadee can be distinguished by its longer black bib, which extends from its chin down onto its upper breast. A whitish band below the bib extends down the center of the belly. It is a permanent resident of w ...
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Sombre Tit
The sombre tit (''Poecile lugubris'') is a member of the tit family found in southeast Europe and southwest Asia. Sombre tits occur in low density in thin woodlands at the elevation range between 1000 and 1600 metres above sea level. Similar to the other tit species, the sombre tit is a cavity-nesting species, which makes the nests in the holes in juniper, willow, poplar, and other relevant tree species. In some cases they nest in iron pipes (e.g. the ones used for orchard fencing), and in artificial nest-boxes. The clutch usually consists on 4 to 9 eggs, having two clutches per year. The species appear to be resident in the country with slight local movements. They breed on mountain slopes and in open deciduous forest; lower down on in trees and bushes in rocky terrain, as well as in fruit orchards. The breeding season lasts from early April till end of July - beginning of August. The food mainly consists on insects. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the sombre tit ...
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Carolina Chickadee
The Carolina chickadee (''Poecile carolinensis'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. Taxonomy The Carolina chickadee is often placed in the genus ''Parus'' with most other tits, but mtDNA cytochrome ''b'' sequence data and morphology suggest that separating ''Poecile'' more adequately expresses these birds' relationships (Gill ''et al.'', 2005). The American Ornithologists' Union has been treating ''Poecile'' as distinct genus since 1998. Although it and the black-capped chickadee most likely diverged about 2.5 million years ago, the birds still hybridize in the areas where their ranges overlap. The offspring of mated pairs of hybrid chickadees suffer from lower hatching success, and a male bias sex ratio, consistent with Haldane's rule. Description Adults are long with a weight of , and have a black cap and bib with white sides to the face. Their underparts are white with rusty brown on the flanks; their back is grey. They have a short dark bill, shor ...
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White-browed Tit
The white-browed tit (''Poecile superciliosus'', formerly ''Parus superciliosus'') is a species of bird in the tit family Paridae. It is endemic to the mountain forests of central China and Tibet. It is 13.5–14 cm long, with a weight of 10–12 g. The plumage pattern is very similar to that of the western North American mountain chickadee ''P. gambeli'' (of which it has on occasion been considered a subspecies, despite its being on a different continent), differing in the breast and cheeks being rusty brown, not white, and having a longer and more sharply defined white eyebrow; the back is also a richer brown, not greyish-brown (del Hoyo et al. 2007). It breeds in alpine shrub forests of ''Berberis'', '' Rhamnus'', '' Rhododendron'', and ''Salix'' at 3,200–4,235 m altitude, descending in winter to slightly lower levels where it occurs in coniferous forests, primarily '' Picea''. It nests on the ground in rock crevices or old rodent burrows (del Hoyo et al. 2007). Mol ...
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