Dr. Ray L. Winstead
Professor of Biology (retired), Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Blue Spruce Park Chickadees:

Feeding Chickadees Out of My Hand
near Indiana, Pennsylvania

Ray Birds - Videos

Cheri Hinchman Widzowski took a great photo of a chickadee rejecting a sunflower seed from my hand - and after looking at the other photos she sent to me - I realized that there is a neat sequence she captured! Not only did the chickadee reject that sunflower seed, he then selected a peanut split instead! I put the photos into a very short video format to show the sequence (loops 3 times). I know from previous experience that titmice and nuthatches "always" choose a peanut split over the sunflower seeds available, while for chickadees, it's about half and half. Maybe this individual saw the peanut splits available after initially picking up a sunflower seed. I do see other chickadees rejecting a particular sunflower seed and then selecting a different sunflower seed. I see the birds seeming to feel the seeds in their beaks - by squeezing it - before deciding. Likewise, I see individuals pick up a peanut split, put it back, and then grab a larger one. Of course, the individuals that are more picky are the ones that have already grown confident in being in my hand. New birds, especially, just land, grab, and go in one quick movement.

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