- Phainopepla nitens
Identification
Length 18-21 cm (7-8¼ in), weight 22 g
Short, thin bill, red eyes, dark crest
Males have glossy black plumage
Females gray, except for white wing patches only visible in flight; long tail
Juveniles are similar to females.
Distribution
- USA: California, southern Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, southwest Texas
- Mexico: throughout northwestern and central Mexico south to Puebla
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Two subspecies recognized[1]:
- P. n. nitens east of the Chihuahuan Desert, from southern Texas south to the Mexian plateau
- P. n. lepida west of the Chihuahuan Desert, in the arid southwest of the USA south to Baja California and northwest Mexico (Sonora and Chihuahua)
Habitat
Desert oases and deserts, woodlands.
Behaviour
Diet
The get the water they need from food. Their main diet consists of small berries and flying insects.
Breeding
The eggs are gray or pink with speckles on them. Both adults share incubation duties, which takes 15 days. The young fledging after a further 19 days..
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Phainopepla. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 9 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Phainopepla
External Links
Search the Gallery using the scientific name:
Search the Gallery using the common name:
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
