BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Poecile hudsonicus
Boreal Chickadee
| Scientific Name: | Poecile hudsonicus (Forster, 1772) | ||||||||||
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| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Poecile hudsonica
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| English Name: | Boreal Chickadee | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 2000. Forty-second supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 117:847-858 | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | March 2, 2010 - changed from P. hudsonica back to P. hudsonicus as per 2209 AOU update (DW). S and G names changed from P. HUDSONICUS 00-09-18 to match AOU. |
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| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | B-BOCH | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Apr 2016) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S5 (Mar 2015) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2005) | ||||||||||
| Migratory Bird Convention Act: | Y | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: | Clutch size 4-9 (usually 6-7). Incubation 11-16 days, by female. Young tended by both parents, leave nest at 18 days. | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
Y / N / N / na / |
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| Global Migration Comments: | Wanders irregularly south after breeding season. | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | Boreal coniferous and mixed forests, muskeg bogs, vicinity of white cedar and hemlock swamps, birches and streamside willows. Nests in natural cavities or abandoned woodpecker holes, or in cavity dug by pair in rotten tree stub, usually within 1 m of ground (but up to 3.7 m). | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Granivore: Adult, Immature
Invertivore: Adult, Immature |
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Eats conifer and birch seeds, and the eggs, immature stages, and adults of insects; forages mainly on twigs and branches of trees (Terres 1980). | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: |
Diurnal: Adult, Immature
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| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | 14/ / 10 | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | RESIDENT: from western and central Alaska to northern Saskatchewan and Labrador, south to Washington, Montana, Minnesota, and northern New England. Wanders irregularly south after breeding season. | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | HAMMERSON, G. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Jan 25, 1994 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp. |
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American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 2000. Forty-second supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 117:847-858 |
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Bent, A.C. 1946. Life histories of North American jays, crows, and titmice. U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 191. Washington, D.C. |
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Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G.W. Kaiser, M.C.E. McNall and G.E.J. Smith 1997. The Birds of British Columbia, Vol. 3, Passerines: Flycatchers through Vireos. UBC Press in cooperation with Environ. Can., Can. Wildl. Serv. and B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. 700pp. |
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Gill, F. B., A. M. Mostrom, and A. L. Mack. 1993. Speciation in North American chickadees: I. Patterns of mtDNA genetic divergence. Evolution 47:195-212. |
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Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio. |
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Harrison, H. H. 1979. A field guide to western birds' nests. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 279 pp. |
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Mitchell, W. A. 1988. Songbird nest boxes. Section 5.1.8, US Army Corps of Engineers Wildlife Resources Management Manual. Tech. Rep. EL-88-19. Waterways Expt. Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi. 48 pp. |
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Sheldon, F. H., et al. 1992. DNA-DNA hybridization evidence of phylogenetic relationships among major lineages of PARUS. Auk 109:173-185. |
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Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1994. Species Summary: Poecile hudsonicus. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 10, 2026).