Distribution

Figure 1. Year-round range of the Black-capped Chickadee.

The Americas

Breeding Range

Confined to North America (Fig. 1). General range as described in AOU (1988) and Peterson (2010a, 2010b): Ranges from w. Alaska (e.g., e. Seward Peninsula [Kessel 1989], Unimak Is. in e. Aleutians [Gibson and Byrd 2007]) and sw. Yukon, across n.-central Canada (s. Yukon, sw. Mackenzie, n. Saskatchewan, n.-central Manitoba, n.-central Ontario, central Quebec, and the Maritimes) to Newfoundland and locally north to the vicinity of Goose Bay, Labrador; south to extreme nw. California (to n. Humboldt Co. [Small 1994]), s. Oregon, extreme ne. Nevada (ne. Elko Co. [Floyd et al. 2007]), s. Utah (e.g., Zion National Park), central New Mexico (Rio Grande Valley s. of Albuquerque), central Kansas, central Missouri, central Illinois, central Indiana, n. Ohio, s. Pennsylvania, and n. New Jersey, and in the Appalachians at higher elevations through West Virginia, w. Maryland, and w. Virginia, and in e. Tennessee and w. North Carolina.

See also Systematics: subspecies.

Winter Range

Same as breeding range except that in some years individuals can be found beyond the normal breeding range, particularly during periodic fall and winter irruptions, which bring individuals both farther to the north (Bent 1946) and, especially, to the south (Elder and Zimmerman 1983, Smith 1991). These movements are most pronounced east of the Rockies. In these irruption years, when large numbers of individuals move south in autumn, most individuals do not seem to travel much beyond the southern limit of the breeding range—though at least very rarely to Delaware, e. Maryland, and e. Kentucky—but strays in the southeastern states might easily be overlooked among the local, resident Carolina Chickadees. In the Arctic, individuals may wander at a variety of seasons—but mostly in fall and winter—to tundra and isolated thickets 100 km or more from nesting habitat (e.g., in Alaska, west to Nome [Kessel 1989] and north to Barrow [Johnson and Herter 1989], and in Manitoba, north to Churchill [Manitoba Avian Research Committee 2003]).

The species is absent from Vancouver I., British Columbia, despite being a fairly common resident on the adjacent mainland. In the Southwest, this species is a casual fall and winter visitor to extreme n. Arizona; one late spring record there involved potential breeders (Corman and Wise-Gervais 2005). Casual visitor to Texas (one record, El Paso Co. [Lockwood and Freeman 2004]) and Oklahoma (Baumgartner and Baumgartner 1992).

Historical Changes In Distribution

No substantial historical changes in distribution, beyond more or less regular bi- or tri-yearly population peaks in some more southern areas in the East during irruption years. Research at the Carolina/Black-capped contact zone in the United States—such as in central (formerly) Ohio and se. Pennsylvania—shows that these two species frequently hybridize, and that the hybrid zone is slowly moving northwards (Bronson et al. 2005; Reudink et al. 2007; see Systematics, related species). The northward retraction of the Black-capped range in Ohio is particularly noteworthy. No other major long-term changes reported.

Fossil History

No data.