The Carolina Chickadee is the chickadee of the Southeast. It is similar in appearance to its northern counterpart, the Black-capped Chickadee. These two species often produce hybrid young when they intermingle and mate.
At 4.5 inches in length, the Carolina Chickadee is the smallest of the North American chickadees. Its cap is black and its cheeks are white. The back and greater coverts are gray, whereas the wings and tail are darker gray. The flanks show a slight buff color, and the belly is white. The bib is black and distinct.
Care must be taken when identifying Black-capped Chickadees and Carolina Chickadees in areas where their ranges overlap. This overlap occurs from southern Kansas through northern Ohio, south to the Great Smoky mountains, and north to central New Jersey.
Plumage differences are slight but obvious:
- The bib is smaller and better defined in a Carolina Chickadee.
- In fresh plumage the Black-capped Chickadee has broad white edges on its inner greater coverts, whereas the greater coverts on the Carolina are uniform gray. Thus, a white patch on the wing of a Black-capped Chickadee is broader than it is on a Carolina Chickadee.
- The outer tail feathers are more broadly edged in white on a Black-capped Chickadee.
- The cinnamon-buff coloring of the underparts is less extensive in Carolina Chickadee.
- The dark lines indicate the difference in the extent of the white edges of the greater coverts in the Carolina Chickadee and the Black-capped Chickadee.
