Carolina Chickadee (Crum Woods Biodiversity Guide)

Carolina Chickadee

Poecile carolinensis

Summary ³

The Carolina Chickadee(Poecile carolinensis) is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It 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 for some time already.

Conservation status ⁴

Because it is a common species throughout its region, no efforts have focused attention on the conservation of P. carolinensis. Some local populations may be decreasing, however, while others are increasing. The increase is most often directly linked to human feeders. Additionally, urban population nesting sites decrease as wooded areas are cleared for development or municipal removal of dead and decaying trees.

US Migratory Bird Act: no special status

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: no special status

Habitat ⁵

Temperate forests, preferably those bordering clearings or near waterways. Forest types inhabited include swamp, hardwood, and mixed pine forests. Tree species characteristic of these forests include oaks (Quercus), water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica) and black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), sweetgum (Liquidamber styraciflua), cypress (Taxodium), elm (Ulmus), ash Fraxinus), cottonwood (Populus deltoides or P. heterophylla), maples (Acer), tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), beech (Fagus), hickories (Carya), pines (Pinus), and hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). Additional habitats used include parks and wooded urban areas. In the western portion of its range, Carolina chickadees are restricted to riparian habitats. Poecile carolinensis is generally found inhabiting higher elevations in the absence of black-capped chickadees (P. atricapillus), another species of chickadee that often intermingles in habitat: up to 1200 meters locally in Tennessee (usually 850 meters where the species co-occur) and 1850 meters locally in North Carolina (usually 1380 meters where they co-occur). Poecile carolinensis is believed to be non-migratory.

Range elevation: 850 to 1850 m.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: forest

Wetlands: swamp

Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; agricultural ; riparian

Iucn red list assessment ⁶

Red List Category

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2012

Assessor/s

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s

Justification

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History

Least Concern (LC)
Least Concern (LC)
Least Concern (LC)
Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)
Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)
Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)

Sources and Credits

(c) Dan Pancamo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/pancamo/5465175071/
(c) Kristi, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/kristi_decourcy/12625440263/
Adapted by Amanda Carrillo-Perez from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poecile_carolinensis
(c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31413383
(c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31413373
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34634358