Chickadee coloration question, Arapahoe county

[Deborah Carstensen]

I have a chickadee coming to my birdfeeder that takes pictures and it looks like it has an unusual amount of black/brown on the chest and sides.
I would like feedback on what people think about these coloration differences from our normal chickadees.

[Brendan Beers]

I had a nesting pair of Red Breasted Nuthatches in my central Fort Collins home this year. Over the past few weeks, I noticed some color variation on both parents, although especially on the female. I attributed this to the "messiness" of brooding and raising nestlings to fledge. The nest cavity is covered with sap and fecal material. If any of you have raised toddlers, you'll know they wipe all kinds of stuff on you as a parent. When I first saw your photos, Deb, I thought it may be a busy parent! 

On Tue, Jun 4, 2024 at 10:53 AM 'Deborah Carstensen' via Colorado Birds <cob...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I have a chickadee coming to my birdfeeder that takes pictures and it looks like it has an unusual amount of black/brown on the chest and sides.
        I would like feedback on what people think about these coloration differences from our normal chickadees.

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Deb Carstensen, Arapahoe county
Sent from my iPhone

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[Barbara Spagnuolo]

Three years ago I photographed a brownish chickadee appearing at a friend’s feeders near Downtown Castle Rock (Douglas County). It looked like a Mountain Chickadee but with brown markings.

 

-Barbara Spagnuolo, Douglas County

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[Steingraeber,David]

Atypical plumage in chickadees showing brown in feathers that would normally be black or gray is likely due to "dilution" of eumelanin (the melanin responsible for black/gray pigmentation) relative to phaeomelanin (responsible for reddish-brown) in the feathers.  Here are links to some examples and discussion of this topic:

David Sibley:https://www.sibleyguides.com/bird-info/black-capped-chickadee/gray-headed-chickadee-or-pale-black-capped/

Laura Erickson:https://blog.lauraerickson.com/2019/03/abnormal-plumage-part-ii-leucistic-birds.html

Kevin McGowan:https://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/brown-headed%20chickadee.htm

David Steingraeber

Larimer County, W of Horsetooth Reservoir

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From: cob...@googlegroups.com <cob...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Barbara Spagnuolo <BSpag...@crgov.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 4, 2024 1:45 PM
To: Deborah Carstensen <fiddl...@aol.com>
Cc: cob...@googlegroups.com <cob...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: [cobirds] Chickadee coloration question, Arapahoe county

 

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