This feisty fellow came over to give me a real sassing yesterday while I was taking a morning walk and minding my own business. (Sex assumed.) Of course, he has that right, being The State Bird and all.
He doesn’t understand that he’s only a piece of mostly colorless fluff that weighs about half an ounce. He seems to think that he and his kind deserve special recognition because they’re native, all-year residents that live outside in the harsh winter. He’s proud to come from a tough, local family known as Black-Capped Chickadees.
He gets his first name from the cap that he likes to wear pulled down over his eyes and ears. His family name mimics his favorite call, which sounds like a kazoo playing “chick-a-dee-dee-dee.” The more “dees” at the end, the more alarmed or annoyed the bird is. Five or more “dees” at the end usually means that there is an imminent danger, such as a crouched barn cat, nearby. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on October 11, 2021.)