Massachusetts State Bird

Black-Capped Chickadee (thrush)

(Parus atricapillus)

Adopted on March 21, 1941.

The Black-Capped Chickadee, Penthestes atricapillus, was adopted as the official State Bird by the Massachusetts Legislature on March 21, 1941. It is also known as the titmouse, tomtit, and the dickybird, and it is one of the most familiar of the North American birds.

Description of the Massachusetts State Bird

Length: 4.5 inches
Short bill
Black crown and throat
White face
Pale gray upperparts
White edges to wing coverts
Grayish-white underparts
Rusty flanks
Sexes similar
Often found in small flocks

It is from four to five inches in size, its tail accounting for nearly half its length. The general coloring is ashy-grey, the back having a brownish tinge; the crown, nape, chin, and throat are black, and the cheeks white. It nests in a stump, tree, or fence post close to the ground, and broods twice a year. It is a cheerful bird and has a pleasing call: "Chick-adee-dee-dee".

Taxonomic Hierarchy of the Black-capped Chickadee

Kingdom	Animalia -- animals
Phylum	Chordata -- chordates
Subphylum	Vertebrata -- vertebrates
Class	Aves -- birds
Order	Passeriformes -- perching birds
Family	Paridae -- chickadees, titmice
Genus	Parus Linnaeus, 1758 -- chickadees, titmice
Species	Parus atricapillus Linnaeus, 1766 -- black-capped chickadee

Official State Birds

Bird:

a. Any of the class Aves of warm-blooded, egg-laying, feathered vertebrates with forelimbs modified to form wings.
b. Such an animal hunted as game.
c. Such an animal, especially a chicken or turkey, used as food

State Bird:

a. Bird selected (as by the legislature) as an emblem of a state of the United States.

NOTE: Many states have more than one official bird, or have designate state birds more specifically.