Small, round and bouncy, they never fail to draw attention.
They’re family Paridae, the vocal and acrobatic passerines that across the pond are known as tits. In North America, of course, they’re our chickadees and titmice, once collectively referred to as tits or titmouses.
“Tit” is from Old Norse meaning “small,” while “mose,” which eventually morphed into the more common word “mouse,” is an Old English word for a tiny thing or bird. The Cherokee people called the chickadee “tsigili’i” for its chattering call; they considered tsigili’i to be a truth-teller and a reliable predicter of approaching danger. In the 1800s, English settlers adapted the Indigenous name to “chickadee,” reserving “titmouse” for its gray, crested cousin.
There are three species of chickadees that are commonly seen in Humboldt County, one titmouse, and two odd little birds that are taxonomically unrelated to the Paridaes but have “tit” in their names and share many of their traits.
Chickadees
Chickadees are sociable, inquisitive birds that come in sharp patterns of black, white, gray and rust. They have long tails and short, stout bills and are generally insectivores, though they’ll readily eat seeds and nuts, especially in winter. They’re non-migratory and can be seen at all times of year around the county in forests, leafy riparian plants and neighborhoods where feeders are well-stocked.
The quintessential chickadee is the Black-capped Chickadee, a dapper little Parid that sports a coal-black cap, black bib and white cheek patch, with silvery-gray upperparts and a white breast with a buffy wash along the sides. Like other chickadees, the black-capped typically moves through the trees in small flocks with other passerines, especially kinglets and warblers. Though scarcely larger than a ping-pong ball, they will noisily scold predators such as owls and hawks, their bright chick-a-dee-dee-dee calls sounding the alarm for other birds.
Black-capped Chickadees have a wide range throughout the northern regions of the U.S. and Canada, and are common in Humboldt. They can be found nearly anywhere there are trees as well as in residential areas near feeders, at the Arcata Marsh and in other places that provide leafy habitat.
Unlike their black-capped cousins, Chestnut-backed Chickadees are a West Coast specialty, seldom straying farther east than Idaho and Western Montana. They’re quite common in Humboldt and typically outnumber black-capped; often both can be found in the same flock. While equally striking, the chestnut-backed has more of a muted gray-black cap with a white cheek patch, black bib and silvery wings; however, its back and sides are rich chestnut.
The smallest of our county’s chickadee species at just over 4-inches long, these gregarious little birds flock together, moving rapidly from one tree to another. Their chick-a-dee calls are faster and buzzier than other chickadee species.
Mountain Chickadees, like black-capped, are patterned in black, white and gray, but their white cheek patch is broken up by a striking black line through the eye. You might have to leave the coast to find one, though; as their name implies, Mountain Chickadees favor higher elevations. Horse Mountain is a great place to spot a flock of these little Parids foraging in the tall conifers. Or you can listen for their call, which sounds like a Black-capped Chickadee with a sore throat.
Titmice
The crested members of family Paridae, titmice (which replaced “titmouses” as the accepted plural after ornithologist David Sibley used it in his popular field guides) are small and gray. In Humboldt, only the Oak Titmouseis commonplace and can usually be found in Southern Humboldt in the hills around Garberville. They often forage in pairs, but their drab coloring can make them hard to spot as they feed on insects in the canopy of leafy oak trees. They’ll also open acorns with their stout bills and visit feeders for suet or seeds.
Like other Parids, they call frequently and loudly, a rough see-dee-dee. Listening for their calls is usually the best way to find them.
Bushtits
Bushtits are shaped a lot like chickadees: tiny, round birds with long tails and short, stout bills. They’re social, move in large flocks and even have “tit” in their names. But they’re not Parids; they belong to family Aegithalidae. Bushtits are an unremarkable brownish-gray all over but have a cool trait: The males have dark eyes while the females’ eyes are pale yellow.
Watching a flock of Bushtits move from tree to tree is like watching clowns exit a telephone booth — you’d never guess so many little birds were hidden among the leaves until dozens fly out, making a chattering tik tik call.
Wrentits
Another species that seems to belong to the Paridae family but doesn’t is the Wrentit, an odd grab-bag of a bird with a chickadee’s roundness and short bill, a bushtit’s drab coloration and the jaunty cocked tail of a wren. However, it’s unrelated to all of them, belonging to family … well, even scientists can’t agree on where to place the Wrentit taxonomically, though it’s currently lumped with the Sylviidae or Old World warblers, it gets moved to a different family every couple of years.
Wrentits are slightly larger than chickadees, with clear yellow eyes and plumage that’s more reddish-brown than the stolid gray of a Bushtit. If you get a good look you’ll note some blurry streaking on the breast. But it’s a bird that’s heard more often than seen, belting out a rollicking “bouncing ball” series of clear notes that accelerate as they fade away.
So if you want to see some really great, um, tiny passerines, check the mid or upper tree canopies as well as the low shrubs — and keep your ears open for those distinctive calls.
Sarah Hobart (she/her) is a freelance writer based in Humboldt County.
This article appears in Granny Rage on Women’s Day.