Introductory
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Parus atricapillus | Black-Capped Chickadee 



ABBREVIATION : 
PAAT

COMMON NAMES : 
   black-capped chickadee


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name for the black-capped chickadee is
Parus atricapillus Linnaeus [33]. The 1957 A.O.U. checklist [1] (the
last one that included subspecies) listed nine subspecies of the
black-capped chickadee:

Parus atricapillus atricapillus, eastern black-capped chickadee 
P. a. practicus (Oberholser), Appalachian black-capped chickadee 
P. a. bartletti Aldrich and Nutt., Newfoundland black-capped chickadee 
P. a. turneri Ridgway, Yukon black-capped chickadee 
P. a. septentrionalis Harris, long-tailed chickadee 
P. a. occidentalis Baird, Oregon chickadee 
P. a. fortuitus (Dawson and Bowles), Columbian black-capped chickadee 
P. a. nevadensis (Linsdale), pallid black-capped chickadee 
P. a. garrinus Behle, Rocky Mountain black-capped chickadee

Where the range of the black-capped chickadee overlaps that of other
chickadees (Parus spp.) they are segregated by habitat.  There are some
areas of breeding territory which the black-capped chickadee and the
Carolina chickadee (P. carolinensis) both use; in this area hybrids of
the two species commonly occur.  There is some disagreement as to the
true status of the Carolina chickadee; it has been argued that it is a
subspecies of the black-capped chickadee rather than a separate species.
The most recent genetic evidence suggests that they are in fact separate
species.  Hybrids with the mountain chickadee (P. gambeli) have also
been reported but are less common than black-capped chickadee-Carolina
chickadee hybrids [30].


ORDER : 
Passeriformes

CLASS : 
Bird

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Janet Sullivan, January 1995


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Sullivan, Janet. 1995. Parus atricapillus. In: Remainder of Citation

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Parus atricapillus | Black-Capped Chickadee