Chickadee
Melissa McMasters from Memphis, TN
Just when Mainers think that winter will never end, a two-note song begins to resound in the woods and backyards: fee-bee, fee-bee. It’s the love song of the male black-capped chickadee. He uses it to court mates and announce territories, but Mainers know it as a sign that spring is coming.
The chickadee has been the state bird since 1927. While the state statute gives no specific reason for this choice, various accounts indicate the bird’s year-round presence, its tenacity even in the face of harsh winter conditions, its connection to the forest environment, and its personality made it the top choice.
The state statute also didn't specify which chickadee. Maine is home to two varieties of chickadees: the black-capped, which is common throughout the state, and the boreal, found in the northern part of the state.
In 2019, a bill was introduced in the legislature to specify that the state bird should be the black-capped chickadee, which set off a lively debate about which chickadee best embodied Maine’s character. Ultimately, lawmakers left the state bird as “the chickadee,” suggesting that Maine’s character is embodied not by one bird or the other, but by both together.
Author: Stephanie Bouchard
