Birding: Chickadees ruled by status and dominance
Phil Kyle Contributing writer
When pecking order is mentioned, it is sometimes connected to the military or your job position, but it can also be applied when describing the status of domestic chickens and turkeys.
The almost featherless bird with a few bloody spots and black and blue marks on its bare skin are signs of the classic dominance hierarchy at work, and this individual is at the bottom.
Our state bird, the fearless and endearing black-capped chickadee, has a subordinate-dominance streak that plays out a hundred times a day. Only after the dominant chickadee in the group has its seed can other chickadees take their turn at the feeder.
At this time of year, chickadees have already formed a flock of six to 10 birds. Other species will join them, including titmice, nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, goldfinches, house finches, juncos, white-throated sparrows and song sparrows. This mixed flock will stay together nearly all winter because the chickadees vocalize upon finding a good source of food. This calling out creates a loose bond between six to 14 birds. These mixed flocks will defend their foraging area (up to 20 acres) against other flocks of chickadees and birds.
At the peak of the flock's pecking order are the top male and female, which have nested at least once successfully. Below them are a "beta" couple, followed by other pairs and then singleton juveniles.
Typically, males dominate females and adults dominate juveniles. This ranking comes into play during feeding, mate selection and claiming territory, and actually reduces conflict within the flock. Pecking order is also in place for best drinking and bathing privileges, and carries nest-site benefits as well.
"In winter, this means that vital energy is not wasted in fighting," according to allaboutbirds.org, a website created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
There have been human comparisons to avian hereditary pecking-order systems, ranging from the relatively mild caste system of Victorian England to the absolute class despotism of medieval Japan.
If you keep an eye on your bird feeder, one of the most common and easily seen behaviors is displacement, which occurs anytime one bird leaves to get out of the way of another bird. Displacement also plays out when one bird waits nearby for another bird to finish eating before flying over to a feeder. Within a species, older birds dominate younger ones. Between species, the larger bird usually wins out.
Dominant birds forage in safer spots and at safer times of the day (less chance of a hawk). As a result, they remain healthier during the harsher months and have greater survival.
"Among the smaller birds, the American goldfinch are more contentious with one another, and less tolerant of other species trying to move in on 'their' food supply. Goldfinch are birds that like to 'dine in,' while the black-capped chickadees definitely prefer 'take out' dining," observe citizen scientists with Feederwatch, one of Cornell Lab of Ornithology's many sponsored programs.
In 2017, during the Cornell Lab's Project FeederWatch, citizen scientists made 7,685 observations of 136 species of birds and their respective pecking orders. Postdoctoral researcher Eliot Miller ranked the birds according to who eats first and who gets shoved aside.
With blue jays vs. cardinals, the jays ate first 94 percent of the time. House sparrows shoved out house finches 85 percent of the time. When it comes to pecking orders between species, generally size matters. But mockingbirds, for instance, can lord it over grackles. Flickers can best starlings. Hairy woodpeckers can hold their own against blue jays. Doves seem tolerant and slow but aggressive at feeders toward cowbirds, cardinals and downy woodpeckers. Bluebirds have first dibs against song sparrows, white-throated sparrows and house sparrows. The juncos and easy-going goldfinches are near the bottom, barely beating out rufous-topped chipping sparrows.
A primer on bird behavior at feeders requires the three most common dominance-related sights. The first is displacement behavior, which we've already covered.
Next come threat displays: Watch for special body language designed to establish position, such as a chickadee tilting its bill straight up, or a dominant white-breasted nuthatch, wings spread, swaying in the direction of a subordinate bird.
Finally, there's appeasement: Watch for birds that deliberately lean or look away from a newly arrived bird, often while crouching or folding their wings inward.
A lot goes on at the feeder — you just have to know what to look for.
Year of the Bird tip: During the holiday chaos, don't forget to feed the birds. Remember, they can't sit by the open fire and roast chestnuts.
— Phil Kyle writes about birding every week for the Cape Cod Times. He is a past president of The Cape Cod Bird Club and in his semiretirement works summers as head naturalist for Barnstable Harbor Ecotours. He can be reached by email at archeopt@gmail.com.