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Chickadees
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passeriformes
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by the arrangement of their toes (three pointing forward and one back), which facilitates perching. With more than 140 families and some 6,500 identified species, Passeriformes is the largest clade of birds and among the most diverse clades of terrestrial vertebrates, representing 60% of birds.Ericson, P.G.P. et al. (2003Evolution, biogeography, and patterns of diversification in passerine birds ''J. Avian Biol'', 34:3–15.Selvatti, A.P. et al. (2015"A Paleogene origin for crown passerines and the diversification of the Oscines in the New World" ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'', 88:1–15. Passerines are divided into three clades: Acanthisitti (New Zealand wrens), Tyranni (suboscines), and Passeri (oscines or songbirds). The passeri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spatial Memory
In cognitive psychology and neuroscience, spatial memory is a form of memory responsible for the recording and recovery of information needed to plan a course to a location and to recall the location of an object or the occurrence of an event. Spatial memory is necessary for orientation in space. Spatial memory can also be divided into egocentric and allocentric spatial memory. A person's spatial memory is required to navigate around a familiar city. A rat's spatial memory is needed to learn the location of food at the end of a maze. In both humans and animals, spatial memories are summarized as a cognitive map. Spatial memory has representations within working, short-term memory and long-term memory. Research indicates that there are specific areas of the brain associated with spatial memory. Many methods are used for measuring spatial memory in children, adults, and animals. Short-term spatial memory Short-term memory (STM) can be described as a system allowing one to tempor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
