Discover the Official State Bird of Maine

What is the official state bird of Maine? The answer is not quite as simple as it should be. While the state did indeed designate the “chickadee” as the official state bird back in 1927, a lack of specificity has led to some confusion and debate in modern times. Read on to find out what two species both have rights to the title of official state bird of Maine!

What is A Chickadee?

The common name “chickadee” refers to seven different North American passerine species in the Poecile genus:

• Black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus): deciduous and mixed forests across the northern U.S. and southern Canada
• Boreal chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus): boreal forests of Canada and northern U.S.
• Carolina chickadee (Poecile carolinensis): deciduous and mixed forests across the Southeastern U.S.; range has been steadily moving northward, hybridizes with the black-capped chickadee where ranges are increasingly overlapping
• Chestnut-backed chickadee (Poecile rufescens): coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. and Canada
• Grey-headed chickadee (Poecile cinctus): coniferous forests across the Palearctic; P. c. lathami ranges in Alaska and Northwest Canada (the other subspecies called Siberian tits)
• Mexican chickadee (Poecile sclateri): wooded highlands in Mexico as well as portions of Arizona and New Mexico
• Mountain chickadee (Poecile gambeli): mountainous regions of Western North America

The birds’ name is an example of onomatopoeia, referring to their most commonly recognized call of “chickadee-dee-dee.” All seven species are also similar in small size and round shape, with dark-colored caps and throat patches. Their specific ranges and color patterns distinguish the individual species.

Which Chickadee Species Live in Maine?

The problem with the original bill only naming “the chickadee” as the state bird is that there are actually two different native species. These species are the black-capped chickadee and boreal chickadee.

So Which Chickadee Species is the Official State Bird?

Most people assume the state bird was always meant to be the black-capped chickadee. It is a common statewide and popular backyard bird, unlike the much rarer boreal chickadee, which is usually only seen in the deep woods. The fact that the official state license plates feature the black-capped chickadee would seem to further solidify this pick.

However, others have argued that the boreal chickadee would be a better choice to make the official state species. While the black-capped chickadee has a wide range in northern North America that spans across all the northern U.S. states, the higher latitude boreal chickadee is much rarer in the U.S., with the southernmost part of its range only reaching northern New England. The majority of this U.S. range falls in Maine. This makes the state a popular destination for tourists looking to add this bird to their life list. The black-capped chickadee is also already the official state bird of Massachusetts, so the boreal chickadee would be a unique choice.

These points were all debated in 2019 when state bill LD 572 was introduced to officially designate one species or the other as the official state chickadee. While the bill itself didn’t argue in favor of either species, the boreal chickadee was the choice supported by the fourth-grade students who helped bring forth the bill. Michael Lund from the Maine Audubon Society also spoke in favor of the boreal chickadee choice:

“The state bird should be inspirational. I love the black-capped chickadee, but it’s not unique to Maine. It’s found all over North America. But people travel to Maine to see the boreal chickadee. It’s a much better symbol of state pride. It represents much more of the state heritage. The boreal chickadee is found deep in the woods.”

Portland Press Herald November 25th, 2018

As it turns out, that bill was ultimately killed in committee by a unanimous vote. This means that the official state bird of Maine is still just “the chickadee” — or rather, chickadees.

Conclusion

The official state bird of Maine is the chickadee. Many assume this to refer to the black-capped chickadee. However, the boreal chickadee also lives in the state, and some favor this rarer deep woodlands bird as a more unique state symbol. Unless the state ever officially changes the language of the original 1927 bill, though, both species have rights to the title!