Tits and Chickadees (Paridae)

Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens) - HBW 12, p. 718

French: Mésange à dos marron German: Rotrückenmeise Spanish: Carbonero Dorsicastaño

Taxonomy: Parus rufescens J. K. Townsend, 1837, forests of Columbia River, probably near Fort Vancouver, Washington, USA.
Until recently present genus normally subsumed into a broad Parus, and many authors still prefer that treatment. Genus normally treated as feminine, but no evidence in original description or elsewhere justifies this, so genus is masculine by default. Forms a superspecies, and has been considered conspecific, with P. cinctus and P. hudsonicus. Nominate race and neglectus intergrade widely in area formerly occupied solely by the latter, which considered possibly now swamped by nominate; further research required. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution: