Long-tailed Chickadee 505 



Key of the Species. 



A. With no white supercihary streak. P. a. septentrionalis, p. 505. 



B. With a white superciliary streak. P. gambeli, p. 506. 



Long-tailed Chickadee. 

 Penthestes atricapillus septentrionalis. 



A.O.U. CheckUst no 735a — Colorado Records — Allen 72, pp. 155, 

 174 ; Aiken 72, p. 195 ; Trippe 74, p. 230 ; Henshaw 75, p. 170 ; Minofc 

 80, p. 225 ; Tresz 81, p. 285 ; Drew 81, p. 87 ; 85, p. 15 ; Allen & 

 Brewster 83, p. 154; Beckham 87, p. 123; Morrison 86, p. 153; 88, 

 p. 72 ; Kellogg 90, p. 89 ; Lowe 94, p. 270 ; McGregor 97, p. 37 ; Cooke 

 97, pp. 122, 222 ; Henderson 03, p. 237 ; 09, p. 241 ; Oilman 07, p. 195 ; 

 Rockwell 08, p. 179 ; Richards 08, p. 194 ; Hersey & Rockwell 09, p. 121. 



Description. — Adult — Crown and nape glossy black ; back slaty- 

 grey, becoming tinged with pale buffy on the rump and tail-coverts ; 

 wings and tail dusky-slate, most of the feathers edged with white ; a 

 white patch on the sides of the head extending forwards to the bill ; 

 below, chin and throat black, rest of the under-parts dull white, 

 shghtly washed with pale bufJy on the flanks ; iris brown, bill black, 

 legs dusky. Length 5-0 ; wing 2-75 ; tail 2-74 ; culmen -30 ; tarsus -70. 



The sexes are alike ; in the autuinn the colour is a little brighter, 

 especially the bufly wash on the lower back and flanks ; the young are 

 very similar to the adults. 



Distribution. — Central parts of western North America, from Alaska 

 and Mackenzie to New Mexico, east to Kansas, west to Utah. In 

 Colorado the Long-tailed Chickadee is a fairly common resident through- 

 out the year, chiefly in the foothills and at elevations up to 9,000 feet, 

 though occasionally wandering higher ; in winter they are mostly below 

 8,000 feet, while in summer they breed from 5,500 to 9,000 feet. 



The following localities show the breeding range in the State : 

 Littleton near Denver, 5,500 feet (Richards), near Trinidad, 6,000 feet 

 (Cooke), up to 9,000 feet in Boulder co. (Gale) ; additional records 

 are : Estes Park, summer (Kellogg), Fort Garland, October (HeiLshaw), 

 Mesa CO. in winter (Rockwell), Barr Lakes in winter (Hersey & Rock- 

 well), San Juan co., breeding (Drew), and Fort Lewis, breeding (Oilman). 



Habits. — ^The Chickadee is a social creature, going 

 about in small parties, especially in winter, among the 

 cotton-woods along the stream -beds, and very actively 

 searching the bark and winter buds for insects, their 

 eggs and larvae, which form the bulk of its food all the 

 year round ; they are undoubtedly of the greatest value 



