Grey-headed chickadee
A resident conifer specialist of subarctic and northern regions.
The grey-headed chickadee, also called the Siberian tit (Poecile cinctus), belongs to the tit family and lives year-round across subarctic Scandinavia, the northern Palearctic, Alaska, and far northwestern Canada. It specializes in conifer forests and rarely migrates. This tit is fairly large for its group, measuring 12.5 to 14 centimeters long and weighing 11 to 14.3 grams—somewhere between a willow tit and a great tit. Its head is dark brown, with the throat and eyestripe darkest and the crown slightly lighter; white cheeks stand out. The back is cinnamon-brown, wing feathers are blackish with pale edges, and the underside is whitish with pale rusty-brown flanks.
**Taxonomy** In 1779, French scholar Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon described this bird in his *Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux* based on a Siberian specimen. An engraved, hand-colored plate by François-Nicolas Martinet appeared in the *Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle*, overseen by Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon’s text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon gave a scientific name, but in 1783 Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert assigned the binomial *Parus cinctus* in his catalog of the plates. Today, the grey-headed chickadee is one of 15 species in the genus *Poecile*, introduced by German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The genus name comes from Ancient Greek *poikilos*, meaning “colorful”; a related word, *poikilidos*, referred to an unidentified small bird. The species name *cinctus* is Latin for “banded.” Previously grouped with other tits in the genus *Parus*, analysis of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b sequences and morphology now supports placing it in *Poecile* to better reflect its relationships. Four subspecies are recognized: *P. c. lapponicus* (Scandinavia to northern European Russia), *P. c. cinctus* (northeastern European Russia through Siberia to Kamchatka and north-central Mongolia), *P. c. sayanus* (southern Siberia and northwestern Mongolia), and *P. c. lathami* (northern and western Alaska and northwestern Canada).
**Conservation** The North American subspecies *P. c. lathami* may now be extinct, with no confirmed sightings anywhere in its range since 2018 despite targeted searches. The western subspecies *P. c.
Quick Facts
- Genus
- Poecile
- Species
- cinctus
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The grey-headed chickadee was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1779 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Siberia. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name, but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Parus cinctus in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées.
The grey-headed chickadee is now one of 15 species placed in the genus Poecile, introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The genus name is from Ancient Greek poikilos 'colourful'; a related word poikilidos denoted an unidentified small bird. The specific epithet cinctus is Latin for 'banded'. Formerly placed in the genus Parus, mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data and morphology suggest that separating Poecile more adequately expresses these birds' relationships.
Reader's Guide
The grey-headed chickadee is significant as a widespread resident breeder in subarctic and northern regions, serving as an indicator of old-growth conifer forest health. Its North American subspecies P. c. lathami may now be extinct, with no sightings since 2018 anywhere in its range despite dedicated searches. The western subspecies P. c. lapponicus is also in serious decline in the west of its range, with the isolated population in southern Norway close to extinction and major declines in Finland. Ecologists in Folldal, Hedmark, Norway found that Siberian tits accounted for only 1% of all tit individuals in lichen-dominated pine forest in 2011, as opposed to 64% in 1982. This dramatic reduction is attributed to interspecies competition with willow tits and great tits, decreased vegetation due to climate change, and logging of old-growth trees which are preferred over new-growth trees. Logging of old-growth forest is thought to be the main cause of the decline in Finland. The species thus highlights the vulnerability of specialized resident birds to habitat loss and climate change.
Did You Know?
- The grey-headed chickadee was described by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1779 from a specimen collected in Siberia.
- In Folldal, Norway, Siberian tits declined from 64% of all tit individuals in 1982 to 1% in 2011.
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