All songbirds, including the Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens), use their voice as a form of communication. These unique calls and songs all have different inherent purposes. Some of them may act as warnings, while others can be used to attract a mate. Each song may even serve multiple functions on it’s own. These acoustic communications are either inherited through genetics, or are learned by the juvenile bird. The learned calls, similar to the way humans acquire speech, can take time to master. This learning curve may account for regional differences in call patterns and also for the differences between closely related species. The chickadees iconic chick-a-dee call is one of these.
Chestnut-backed Chickadee:
When Chestnut-backed Chickadees find a food source, they let their flock mates know by calling to them. One of these calls is the learned “chick-a-dee” call(1). Photo credit to Stephanie Wetten
The Chestnut-backed Chickadee (CBCH) has it’s own unique chick-a-dee call. This call has many purposes, but is mostly used to keep in contact or as a signal for food. Specifically in Chestnut-backed Chickadees, this call can also be used as a territorial defense. It has been heard around sun rise to re-establish territorial boundaries(2).
Listen for the Chestnut-backed Chickadees “chick-a-dee” call here:
Video credit to 23thunderjet, from YouTube(3).
The chick-a-dee call made by the Chestnut-backed Chickadee is comprised of four different note types. These notes ( A, C, D, and Dh) can be separated visually by their individual spectrograms and can be seen laid out below(2).
The four note types (A, C, D, and Dh) found in the chick-a-dee call of the Chestnut-backed Chickadee, courtesy of the Journal of Acoustical Society of America. (2)
The notes are easily differentiated by their appearance on the spectrogram. A, C, and D are completely different, while Dh is a hybrid note containing elements of both A and D. These notes are relatively fixed, but can differ slightly between individuals and between different regions. For example, the Chestnut-backed Chickadees found on Vancouver Island have different call variations than CBCHs from California(2).
Other Chickadees:
All chickadee species use a form of the chick-a-dee call that are unique to each individual species. They are not identical in their acoustic makeup, but are comparable overall(2). These variations in the call may reflect the different purposes it can serve in the different species or may just be a by product of the years of speciation and the separation of the chickadee lineages.
The Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonica) alters it’s chick-a-dee call by adding an extra note. Instead of the four notes produced by the Chestnut-backed Chickadee, this species uses five note types. This includes the A, C, D, and Dh of the CBCH with an additional B note. This note is shown to be a transition between A and Dh(4). These five notes can be seen below(4).
The five different note types (A, B, C, D, and Dh) found in the Boreal Chickadees chick-a-dee call. It shows an extra B note as compared to the same call of the Chestnut-backed Chickadee. Figure from the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America(4).
The call is thought to have similar purposes to that of most other chickadee species(4).
Listen here for the Boreal Chickadees “chick-a-dee” call:
Video credit to MDuchek, from YouTube(5).
Another chickadee species that modifies it’s chick-a-dee call is the Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapilla). This species uses a four note system that looks like a combination of both preceding species’. It uses the notes A, B, C, and D as shown below(1).
A Black-capped Chickadees chick-a-dee call displaying the four note system it uses. (A, B, C, C, D, D, D respectively) This call combines elements from both the Chestnut-backed Chickadee and the Boreal Chickadee. Figure credit to the Canadianan Journal of Zoology(1).
The chick-a-dee call is not used as a territorial defense in the Black-capped Chickadees. It retains the other purposes though, like alarm, contact, and to mobilize the flock. This species is known for using the amount of final D notes to convey the urgency of the call. For example, the greater the threat the more D notes there are at the end of the chick-a-dee call(1). Note that this function is not seen in the other two species mentioned above.
Listen here for the Black-capped Chickadees “chick-a-dee” call:
Video credit to graywulffe, from Youtube(6).
All species of chickadee use the chick-a-dee call for multiple purposes. Some are similar between species and others have species-specific meanings. These differences may be related to the different acoustical makeup of each species’ chick-a-dee call. Some of the differences may be partly attributed to the learnt nature of these calls, and/or the years of speciation between the chickadees.
-Stephanie Wetten
VIU Ornithology 2015
References:
1.Charrier, I., Bloomfield, L.L., Sturdy, C.B. 2004. Note types and coding in parid vocalizations. I: the chick-a-dee call of the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus). Canadian Journal of Zoology. 82.5, pp. 769-779
2. Hoeschele, M., Gammon, D.E., Moscicki, M.K., Sturdy, C.B. 2009. Note types and coding in parid vocalizations: the chick-a-dee call of the chestnut-backed chickadee (Poecile rufuscens). Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 126:4, pp2088-2099.
3. 23thunderjet. Chestnut-backed chickadees calling [Internet]. YouTube; 2014 Oct [cited 2015 Oct. 30] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUXZmQ8EGUw
4. Moscicki, M. K., Hoeschele, M., Bloomfield, L. L., Modanu, M., Charrier, I., Sturdy, C. B. 2011. Note types and coding in parid vocalizations: the chick-a-dee call of the boreal chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus). Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 129:5, pp. 3327-3340
5. MDuchek. Boreal chickadee [Internet]. YouTube; 2010 Oct [cited 2015 Oct 31] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soPWkijZbYQ
6. graywulffe. Black-capped chickadee (Poecile articapillus) “chicka-de-de-de” song 10apr2010 [Internet]. YouTube; 2010 Apr [cited 2015 Oct 31] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51FNXBWhyAg