Phainopepla

Phainopepla nitens

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family PTILOGONATIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A crested songbird of the deserts and arid woodlands of the southwestern United States and Mexico, the Phainopepla is unique in taxonomy, distribution, and behavior. It is particularly notable for its enigmatic pattern of breeding twice each year, in two different habitats.

Cool Facts

• The Phainopepla, when pursued by predators or handled by humans, mimics the calls of other birds; imitations of at least 13 species have been recorded.
• An individual Phainopepla eats at least 1,100 mistletoe berries per day, when they are available.

• The name ?Phainopepla? (pronounced fay-no-PEP-la) comes from the Greek for ?shining robe,? a fitting characterization of the shiny, jet-black plumage of the adult male.

• The Phainopepla exhibits strikingly different behaviors in its two habitats. In the desert, it is territorial, actively defending nesting and foraging sites, while in the woodlands it is colonial, with as many as four nesting pairs sharing one large tree.

• The Phainopepla rarely drinks water, even though research indicates that it loses about 95 percent of its body mass in water per day. Instead, it gets the water it needs from its diet of mistletoe.

Description

• Size: 18-21 cm (7-8 in)
• Wingspan: 29 cm (11 in)
• Weight: 18-28 g (0.64-0.99 ounces)

• Medium-sized songbird.
• Tall, wispy crest.
• Slender, with long tail.
• Male shiny black.
• Female all gray.

• Wings broad and rounded.
• Eyes red.
• Bill black.
• Legs and feet black.
• Male with white patches in wings, visible in flight.
• Female with inconspicuous, light gray wing patches.

Sex Differences

Male is black; female is gray.

Immature

Immature resembles adult female, but more brownish, and with brown eyes.

Similar Species

• Cedar Waxwing is brownish with a yellow tip on tail.
• Northern Mockingbird has white wing patches, but also has white in the tail.

Sound

Call a rising ?wurp?? Song complex, with at least 14 different identifiable elements, though notes and phrases often seem weak and disjointed. Includes a sprightly, whistled ?wheeda-lay.?

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds in the Sonoran Desert and surrounding regions in Arizona and southern California, northward into the foothills and valleys of northern California, eastward into southern New Mexico, and southward to northern Oaxaca in Mexico.

Winter Range

Spends winter and early spring in desert, and summer in woodland or chaparral. It breeds in both winter and summer habitats.

Habitat

Desert, riparian woodlands, and chaparral.

Food

Mistletoe berries, other berries, and flying insects.

Behavior

Foraging

Picks berries from mistletoe clusters. Catches insects on the wing, sometimes together with other Phainopeplas. Perches on tops of trees and shrubs.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Small, shallow, woven cup of twigs and fibers, placed on a tree limb or fork, or in a clump of mistletoe, typically 2?5 m (6.6-16.4 ft) above ground.

Egg Description

Round. Light grayish, with small dark speckles.

Clutch Size

Usually 2-3 eggs. Range: 2-4.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless with sparse white down, skin grayish black.

Conservation Status

Habitat loss from conversion of desert riparian areas for agricultural use has led to reductions in the number and size of breeding populations. It is not, however, listed as threatened or endangered, and is increasing in some areas.

Other Names

Phénopèple luisant (French)
Jilguero negro, Capulinero negro (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Chu, M., and G. Walsberg. 1999. Phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens). In The Birds of North America, No. 415 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.