Chickadees

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Rotrückenmeise

Poecile rufescens

Chickadees3 photosFirst seen: 7 July 2026

The Chestnut-backed Chickadee is a small chickadee with a dark head, white cheeks and a rich chestnut back. It is closely associated with moist conifer forests along the Pacific coast. The species searches bark and foliage for insects and also eats seeds. It stores food in crevices and joins mixed-species flocks outside the breeding season. Pairs nest in cavities and line them with soft plant material and fur.

ID tip: The chestnut back is unique among North American chickadees, and if the light is poor, note that the cap is dark brown, never true black.

First seen: 7 July 2026 · Foster Island · 3 photos in the collection.

Places in my records

Locations where this species is supported by a dated first record, an unambiguous single-place outing or a reviewed assignment.

Foster Island7 July 2026 San Juan Islands12 August 2026

Family: Chickadees (Paridae)
Length: 9.9–12 cm
Wingspan: ~19 cm
Regional status: Year-round resident (Pacific Northwest, USA)
Conservation: Least Concern LCIUCN Red List · retrieved 27 August 2026
Habitat: Damp conifer forest, wooded suburbs, cedar and fir
Diet: Insects, spiders, conifer seeds, suet at feeders

Built from verified occurrence records, not drawn by hand. Core range = the countries holding 99% of all records; the rest are scattered or vagrant records. Record counts track where people watch birds as much as where the birds are, so the map shows presence, not abundance. Data: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). Basemap: Natural Earth.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Places in my records

Selected photographs