Because of the mild weather so far this winter I haven’t found it necessary to wear my really warm fleece jacket. This jacket is a mandatory survival tool when wind chill factors drop to the single digits. That made me think: how do chickadees survive brutally cold weather?
A chickadee’s internal body temperature is higher than that of a human, about 104⁰F. And only a few millimeters of feathers separate its body from the frigid outdoor air. Although feathers insulate very well and a chickadee has about 1000 feathers some body heat does escape. The chickadee must continue to burn fuel (food) to continue to generate body heat. On cold nights, a chickadee may allow its internal temperature to drop 10-15 degrees to conserve energy. At first light, they start shivering to warm up quickly. That requires a burst of energy. Then one of the first chores of the day is to find food to produce energy and heat
birdsoup 
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