The Mountain Chickadee is the only chickadee with a white supercilium, a bold streak above the eye that distinguishes it from the Black-capped Chickadee. It is the quintessential bird of western mountain conifers, often the first bird to find and mob a visiting birder. It caches seeds in thousands of locations and has a proportionally large hippocampus — the brain region linked to spatial memory.
Best time to see a Mountain Chickadee
The best time to see a Mountain Chickadee is April–September, when about 63% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 15,264 research-grade iNaturalist observations.
Not certain it is a Mountain Chickadee? What bird is this? walks through what to check first and the lookalikes that catch people out.
Recent Mountain Chickadee sightings near you
Live, research-grade observations from iNaturalist. Allow location to center the map on you.
Spotted a Mountain Chickadee?
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