Any of several species of small and hardy birds of the genus Parus, native to North America and Eurasia. Represented in the North Country by two of the region's few year round bird species, the Black Capped Chickadee ( Parus atricapillus), here at the northern edge of its range, and the Boreal Chickadee ( Parus hudsonicus) a northern bird at the southern extreme of its distribution.