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Poecile atricapillus
Plate — illustration to come
Year-round residentNative · New Jersey

Black-capped Chickadee

Poecile atricapillus

Paridae

The bird that named itself. Black-capped Chickadees are year-round residents in northern NJ (Carolina Chickadees hold most of southern and central NJ). Small, curious, remarkably tame — they will land on a still hand holding sunflower seeds. Their brain grows new neurons every fall to remember thousands of seed-cache locations.

Identify by

How to spot one.

  • Tiny — 4.5–5 inches

  • Black cap and black bib with white cheeks between

  • Gray back, buff-white belly

  • Small dark bill

  • Constant motion — rarely still for more than a second

Voice

What it sounds like.

The classic 'chick-a-dee-dee-dee' — the number of 'dee' notes actually communicates threat level to other chickadees (more dees = bigger danger). Also a clear two-note whistle: 'fee-bee.'

Life & behavior

How it lives.

Social outside of breeding season, forming winter flocks with titmice, nuthatches, and warblers. Excavates or reuses cavity nests in rotting wood. Caches seeds in bark crevices and remembers thousands of locations for months.

At a glance

The spec sheet.

Status
Year-round resident
Size
4.7–5.9 inches
Present in NJ
Year-round
Native to NJ
Yes
Conservation status
stable
Family
Paridae
Diet

What it eats.

Diet often shifts dramatically between breeding season and the rest of the year — especially for insectivorous birds that pivot to native berries in fall and winter.

Summer / breeding season

  • Caterpillars (essential — nearly all nestling food)

  • Beetles, ants, wasps, moth eggs and pupae

  • Spiders

  • Some berries and seeds

Fall / winter

  • Cached seeds (sunflower, oak, hickory)

  • Insect eggs and pupae extracted from bark crevices

  • Wild berries

  • Suet and sunflower at feeders

Plants it uses

What it needs.

Native plants that feed this bird or provide shelter. Names in hydrangea link to the plant’s Field Guide entry.

  • Native oaks (Quercus)

    Larval host tree (feeds caterpillars)

  • Wild black cherry

    Larval host tree (feeds caterpillars)

  • Native maples

    Larval host tree (feeds caterpillars)

  • Serviceberry

    Larval host tree (feeds caterpillars)

  • Purple Coneflower

    Seed source

Sources

Doug Tallamy research (Univ. of Delaware) · Audubon · Real Gardens Grow Natives

More in this group

Other year-round residents.