Family: Paridae, Chickadees and Titmice view all from this family

Description 5-5 3/4" (13-15 cm). Similar to Black-capped Chickadee, but with white eyebrow and pale gray flanks.

Habitat High-altitude coniferous forests.

Nesting 7-9 white, sometimes spotted eggs in a hair- or fur-lined natural cavity or woodpecker hole; like other chickadees, it sometimes excavates a hole in soft, rotten wood.

Range Resident from interior British Columbia south through Rocky Mountain and Cascade-Sierra chains to southern California and western Texas.

Voice   A hoarse chick-a-zee-zee, zee. Spring song is similar to that of the Black-capped Chickadee, but 3-noted: fee-bee-bee, the bees at a lower pitch.

Discussion A constantly moving insect-gleaner of the mountain forest, the Mountain Chickadee frequently descends into the lowlands in winter. In November an occasional flock can be found near sea level in desert oases containing planted conifers, while other flocks forage at 8,500 feet (2,600 meters) in the subalpine forests of nearby mountains.