Carolina Chickadee
Sociable, chatty, and curious, Carolina Chickadees pack a lot of personality into a small package. These cousins of the titmouse (with whom they may be found in large, vocal feeding parties) are highly social birds, forming flocks with complex social hierarchies and communication. Their distinctive call, a rapid-fire chicka-dee-dee-dee, is part of a complex “language” by which they communicate with each other. This sophisticated social behavior requires a lot of brainpower, so chickadees’ brains are constantly changing: each autumn, neurons containing old information die, allowing them to “make room” for new. Chickadees’ sociability extends outside their own species, too, with many small songbirds joining chickadee flocks to find food and take advantage of safety in numbers. During migration season, listen for Carolina Chickadees; they may be hosting some interesting migratory guests!
