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Mexican Chickadee

 
Mexican Chickadee

 
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Mexican Chickadee
 
 
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The Mexican Chickadee (Poecile sclateri) is a small songbird
Songbird

A songbird or oscine is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of Passerine , in which the syrinx is developed in such a way as to produce various sound notes, commonly known as bird song....
, a passerine
Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders:...
 bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
 in the tit
Titmouse

The tits, chickadees, and titmice comprise Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur in the northern hemisphere and Africa....
 family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Paridae. Often, it is still placed in the genus Parus with most other tits, but mtDNA cytochrome b
Cytochrome b

Cytochrome b/b6 is main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 complex and Cytochrome b6f complex complexes.In the mitochondrion of eukaryotes and in aerobic prokaryotes, cytochrome b is a component of respiratory chain complex III - also known as the bc1 complex or ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase....
 sequence
DNA sequence

A DNA sequence or genetic sequence is a succession of letters representing the primary structure of a real or hypothetical DNA molecule or strand, with the capacity to carry information as described by the central dogma of molecular biology....
 data and morphology
Morphology (biology)

The term morphology in biology refers to form, structure and configuration of an organism. This includes aspects of the outward appearance as well as the form and structure of the internal parts like bones and organs....
 suggest that separating Poecile more adequately expresses these birds' relationships (Gill et al., 2005). The American Ornithologists' Union
American Ornithologists' Union

The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithology organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birdwatching....
 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.






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Encyclopedia


The Mexican Chickadee (Poecile sclateri) is a small songbird
Songbird

A songbird or oscine is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of Passerine , in which the syrinx is developed in such a way as to produce various sound notes, commonly known as bird song....
, a passerine
Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders:...
 bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
 in the tit
Titmouse

The tits, chickadees, and titmice comprise Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur in the northern hemisphere and Africa....
 family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Paridae. Often, it is still placed in the genus Parus with most other tits, but mtDNA cytochrome b
Cytochrome b

Cytochrome b/b6 is main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 complex and Cytochrome b6f complex complexes.In the mitochondrion of eukaryotes and in aerobic prokaryotes, cytochrome b is a component of respiratory chain complex III - also known as the bc1 complex or ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase....
 sequence
DNA sequence

A DNA sequence or genetic sequence is a succession of letters representing the primary structure of a real or hypothetical DNA molecule or strand, with the capacity to carry information as described by the central dogma of molecular biology....
 data and morphology
Morphology (biology)

The term morphology in biology refers to form, structure and configuration of an organism. This includes aspects of the outward appearance as well as the form and structure of the internal parts like bones and organs....
 suggest that separating Poecile more adequately expresses these birds' relationships (Gill et al., 2005). The American Ornithologists' Union
American Ornithologists' Union

The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithology organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birdwatching....
 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
Black-capped Chickadee

The is a small, common songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae.The genus name Poecile has often been treated as feminine ; however, this was not specified by the original genus author Johann Jakob Kaup, and under the ICZN the genus name must therefore be treated by default as masculine, giving the name ending atricapillus...
 and Mountain Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee

The Mountain Chickadee is a small songbird, a passerine bird in the titmouse family Paridae. Often, it is still placed in the genus Parus with most other tits, but mtDNA cytochrome b DNA sequence data and morphology suggest that separating Poecile more adequately expresses these birds' relationships ....
, 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
Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
 and southwestern New Mexico
New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
. Although primarily nonmigratory
Bird migration

Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather....
, 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.

External links

  • ; mangoverde.com
  • ; InfoNatura NatureServe
  • linked at natureserve.org
  • VIREO