Chickadee calls are astonishingly complex. The little socialists communicate information to all birds that may be listening, about food sources, predator threats and group movement. A recent study shows that the number of alarmed 'dees' and shortened intervals between 'chick' and 'dees', give grave warning to 'scatter the seeds and fly like hell'.
Chickadees weigh as much as a large teaspoon of sunflower seeds. On cold winter nights they survive by dropping their body temperature 10 or 12°C below their normal body temperature to conserve energy. Few birds have the capacity for torpor.
Incoming!