# Carolina Chickadee

*Poecile carolinensis*

To survive cold winter nights, they can lower their body temperature to enter a state of regulated hypothermia called torpor.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Paridae › Poecile
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Deciduous and mixed woodlands, forest edges, and suburban parks.
- **Diet:** Mainly insects and spiders during breeding season; seeds and berries during winter.
- **Range:** Southeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic United States, Gulf Coast, Southern Midwest
- **Size:** 11.5–13 cm in length; weight of 9–12 grams.
- **Lifespan:** 2-3 years average; up to 10 years in the wild.
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss, pesticide use reducing prey availability, and predation by domestic cats.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless and often curious. Observe from a distance to avoid causing stress. Do not attempt to catch or touch. If a bird appears injured or sick, avoid direct contact and call a local wildlife rehabilitator.

## About

The Carolina chickadee ( Poecile carolinensis ) is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is 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 has been treating Poecile as distinct genus for some time already.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/c5dad3f1-0255-4b2e-9f9e-ff04bb8f3784
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/144814
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poecile carolinensis
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/3053969/medium.jpg (Dan Pancamo, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.