Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Chickadee has edged up: up 19% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Carolina Chickadee
The Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) is a North American member of the Chickadees & Titmice (Paridae). In this analysis it is grouped with the forest birds.
- Size
- 4.5–6 in long (11–15 cm) — a tiny, active songbird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Woodlands and forest edges, including wooded suburbs and parks.
- Diet
- Insects and spiders gleaned from foliage and bark, with seeds and berries in season.
- Range
- Recorded on 1,537 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 24 states, most concentrated in the Southeastern Coastal Plain.
- Family
- Paridae · Forest birds
Notable Carolina Chickadee Trends
No notable trend signals for Carolina Chickadee. See the full index history below.
Carolina Chickadee Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Carolina Chickadee is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 3.1 (95% range 2.5–3.7). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±5.6%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.6 |
| 2026 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.6 |
| 2027 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.7 |
| 2028 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.7 |
| 2029 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.7 |
Where the Carolina Chickadee Is Detected
BBS routes recording Carolina Chickadee, sized by most recent count.
Carolina Chickadee Population Trend by State
| Alabama | +17% | 1968 | 109 |
| Arkansas | +24% | 1969 | 62 |
| Delaware | +414% | 1968 | 17 |
| Florida | +103% | 1968 | 80 |
| Georgia | +32% | 1968 | 110 |
| Illinois | +411% | 1968 | 40 |
| Indiana | +85% | 1968 | 52 |
| Kansas | +909% | 1969 | 14 |
| Kentucky | -13% | 1968 | 64 |
| Louisiana | +141% | 1969 | 96 |
| Maryland | +86% | 1968 | 65 |
| Mississippi | +183% | 1968 | 74 |
| Missouri | +152% | 1969 | 52 |
| New Jersey | +61% | 1968 | 33 |
| New York | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| North Carolina | +78% | 1968 | 112 |
| Ohio | +125% | 1968 | 67 |
| Oklahoma | +118% | 1969 | 64 |
| Pennsylvania | +763% | 1968 | 41 |
| South Carolina | +53% | 1968 | 51 |
| Tennessee | +82% | 1968 | 55 |
| Texas | +99% | 1969 | 139 |
| Virginia | -6% | 1968 | 88 |
| West Virginia | +16% | 1968 | 51 |
Carolina Chickadee Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | +342% | 1973 | 5 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | +134% | 1969 | 48 |
| Edwards Plateau | +83% | 1969 | 19 |
| Oaks and Prairies | +132% | 1969 | 73 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | +154% | 1968 | 105 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | +31% | 1988 | 4 |
| Central Hardwoods | +27% | 1968 | 163 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | +68% | 1969 | 110 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | +210% | 1968 | 72 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | +63% | 1968 | 345 |
| Appalachian Mountains | +29% | 1968 | 251 |
| Piedmont | +92% | 1968 | 167 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | +64% | 1968 | 101 |
| Peninsular Florida | +366% | 1968 | 35 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | +186% | 1969 | 33 |
Carolina Chickadee Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 19% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.