Black-capped chickadee, the state bird of Maine and Massachusetts
The black-capped chickadee is the state bird of two New England states: Maine, which chose "the chickadee" in 1927, and Massachusetts, which adopted it in 1941. It is a small bird with a black cap and bib that stays through the winter, named for its buzzy call, "chick-a-dee-dee-dee."
The 2 states
| State | Designation | Name in state law | Adopted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | State bird | Black-capped chickadee1 M.R.S. §209 | 1927 |
| Massachusetts | State bird | Black-capped chickadeeM.G.L. c. 2, § 9; Acts of 1941, c. 121 | 1941 |
Two New England states
The black-capped chickadee is the state bird of Maine and Massachusetts. Maine adopted it in 1927, through a resolve presented by Representative Fuller of Southwest Harbor; the law names simply “the chickadee,” which the secretary of state identifies as the black-capped chickadee. Massachusetts named it in 1941, in the same act that made the American elm its state tree. In Michigan’s 1929 statewide vote the chickadee finished a close second to the robin.
How to recognize it
The black-capped chickadee is small, about 5 to 6 inches long, with a black cap and a large black bib, a gray back and a buffy wash along the sides. It has a short, straight bill, a large head on a short neck and a fairly long tail. Its call is a buzzy chick-a-dee-dee-dee, and its song a clear two-note whistle, fee-bee, with the second note lower.
A year-round neighbor
Chickadees live across the northern United States and southern Canada, in mixed and deciduous woods, forest edges, thickets and suburbs, and they mostly stay put all year, visiting feeders through the winter. The species is of low conservation concern, with a breeding population of about 43 million, and breeding bird surveys show a slight overall increase since 1966.
Questions people ask
- Which states have the chickadee as state bird?
- Maine, since 1927, and Massachusetts, since 1941.
- How did the chickadee get its name?
- From its call, a buzzy "chick-a-dee-dee-dee." Its song is a clear two-note whistle, "fee-bee."
- Was the chickadee ever another state's bird?
- It came close in Michigan, where it finished second to the robin in a 1929 vote. North Carolina briefly named the Carolina chickadee, a related species, in 1933.
Sources
- Black-capped Chickadee National Audubon Society
- Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, §209: State bird Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- 1941 Chap. 0121. An Act Designating The Chickadee As The State Bird And The American Elm As The State Tree. State Library of Massachusetts (Acts and Resolves)