Mexican chickadee

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Mexican chickadee
Poecile sclateri, Rustler Park, Arizona 3.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Genus: Poecile
Species:
P. sclateri
Binomial name
Poecile sclateri
Poecile sclateri distribution map.png
Range of Poecile sclateri
Synonyms

Parus sclateri

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 wooded highlands in western, central and northeastern Mexico, the range extends north into extreme southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Although primarily nonmigratory, Mexican chickadees sometimes fly to lower elevations during the cold of winter.

The Mexican chickadee's song is distinct from other chickadees; it is a complex burry trilled whistle of chischu-wur and a rich cheelee. They travel in pairs or small groups, and may join multi-species feeding flocks.

The nest is constructed by the female in a snag or tree cavity up to 18 m above the ground, and consists of grasses, moss, strips of bark, and is lined with animal fur. She lays between five and eight ovate white eggs, marked with fine reddish brown spots. Their breeding biology is not well known, but it is estimated that eggs are incubated for 11–14 days by the female, and the altricial young fledge in 18–21 days.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tit (bird)</span> Family of small passerine birds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ground tit</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsh tit</span> Species of bird

The marsh tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae and genus Poecile, closely related to the willow tit, Père David's and Songar tits. It is a small bird, around 12 cm (4.7 in) long and weighing 12 g (0.42 oz), with a black crown and nape, pale cheeks, brown back and greyish-brown wings and tail. Between 8 and 11 subspecies are recognised. Its close resemblance to the willow tit can cause identification problems, especially in the United Kingdom where the local subspecies of the two are very similar: they were not recognised as separate species until 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willow tit</span> Species of passerine bird in the tit family Paridae

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-capped chickadee</span> Species of small, non-migratory, North American songbird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-headed chickadee</span> Species of bird

The grey-headed chickadee or Siberian tit, 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, the bird has no grey on its head, which is black, white, and brown.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain chickadee</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous-naped tit</span> Species of bird

The rufous-naped tit, also known as the black-breasted tit or dark-grey tit, is an Asian songbird species in the tit and chickadee family (Paridae). It was sometimes considered conspecific with the rufous-vented tit, and was formerly placed in the genus Parus.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-winged black tit</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-browed tit</span> Species of bird

The yellow-browed tit is a species of bird in the family Paridae. It is placed in the monotypic genus Sylviparus.

<i>Poecile</i> Genus of birds in the tit family Paridae

Poecile is a genus of birds in the tit family Paridae. It contains 15 species, which are scattered across North America, Europe and Asia; the North American species are the chickadees. In the past, most authorities retained Poecile as a subgenus within the genus Parus, but treatment as a distinct genus, initiated by the American Ornithologists Union, is now widely accepted. This is supported by mtDNA cytochrome b sequence analysis.

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The Caspian tit is a passerine bird in the tit family. It breeds in the deciduous mountain forests of northern Iran, just extending into Azerbaijan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chickadee</span> Group of North American songbirds

The chickadees are a group of North American birds in the family Paridae included in the genus Poecile. Species found in North America are referred to as chickadees; species found elsewhere in the world 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 in size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian black-lored tit</span> Species of bird

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References

  1. BirdLife International (2020). "Poecile sclateri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22711732A137665061. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22711732A137665061.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.