YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — While winter causes hibernation for a number of species, Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is shedding light on an animal at the other end of the spectrum.
In a Monday, Nov. 25, Facebook post, YNP draws attention to the tiny black-capped chickadee. According to the Park, this bird can consume up to 60% of its body weight daily, which, after digestion, equals a 10% weight gain every day.
This weight gain is necessary to survive the cold nights; at night, the chickadee enters controlled hypothermia and lowers its body temperature by 12 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. This takes its body temperature from 108 degrees to as low as 86 degrees.
“Even with those energy savings, by the end of the night, the 10% weight they gained has all been used up,” YNP writes.
The National Park Service writes on its website that, unlike many birds, black-capped chickadees forage among the twigs not only upright, but also upside down. They also have numerous calls with enough variations that individual birds can identify members of their own flock from those of other flocks.
