chickadee

American  

[chik-uh-dee] / ˈtʃɪk əˌdi /

noun

• chickadees
  plural

1. any of several North American birds of the genus Parus, of the titmouse family, especially P. atricapillus black-capped chickadee, having the throat and top of the head black.

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chickadee British  

/ ˈtʃɪkəˌdiː /

noun

1. any of various small North American songbirds of the genus Parus, such as P. atricapillus ( black-capped chickadee ), typically having grey-and-black plumage: family Paridae (titmice)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chickadees
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of chickadee

First recorded in 1820–30; imitative

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Compare meaning

How does chickadee compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• nuthatch vs. chickadee

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Explanation

Chickadees are small, North American songbirds. These tiny, plump birds are mostly gray and tan, with white cheeks, a dark cap, and a black bib under the chin. There are several species of chickadees, including black-capped chickadees and mountain chickadees. These bold, curious songbirds have a complex series of calls. In fact, the name chickadee is imitative of a sound they make when warning each other about predators. The more dee sounds chickadees make when they call chicka-dee-dee-dee, the bigger the perceived threat. Chickadees are masters of memory: A single chickadee hides away up to 80,000 seeds for the winter and can remember where it stashed every one.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chickadee chickadees

If only you had the memory of a mountain chickadee.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 17, 2024

Limited resources lead to smaller chickadee offspring that are less likely to survive high in the mountains.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023

If we can forgive a fox for telling a lie, what about a chickadee for breaking and entering?

From New York Times ● Jul. 15, 2022

“If you put a birdbath in the middle of your yard, don’t be surprised when a hawk eats a chickadee, because you’ve inadvertently made a buffet,” Sullivan warns.

From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2022

Mr. Bracket, the chickadee, spent most of his time chasing the young chickadees through the woods.

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

The first thing I noticed was the sound of the place: the chatter of chickadees, the crows of a rooster and the honks of geese.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

She provides shelter, nesting materials, and food to myriad juncos, black-capped chickadees, chestnut-backed chickadees, nuthatches, Bewick’s wrens, towhees, all our native woodpeckers, various migratory birds, pollinators, and so many other wildlife.

From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024

To evaluate the spatial memory of wild mountain chickadees, Taylor's collaborators at the University of Nevada, Reno, led by biologist professor, Vladimir Pravosudov, designed a clever test.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 17, 2024

Other studies found that normally solitary bushbabies were more social on the streets of Pretoria, and urbanized mountain chickadees were more bold in the face of simulated predators in British Columbia.

From National Geographic ● Feb. 15, 2024

And there they were again in my hemlock; three busy chickadees.

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

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