The Carolina chickadee’s geographic range overlaps the black-capped. Listen and look for differences ... nuthatches, warblers, brown creepers, kinglets and the occasional woodpecker.

This species is the smallest chickadee in North America. One of the 3 “brown-backed” species (along with boreal and gray-headed), its nominate subspecies is the most richly colored parid.

Although the mountain chickadee is the black-capped’s closest relative, the Carolina chickadee likely will cause the most trouble, especially in late spring and summer when the black-capped’s ...