Target folder // PHAINO
Phainopepla
Phainopepla nitens · Ptiliogonatidae (silky-flycatchers)
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Find the mistletoe, find the Phainopepla. A slim, crested black bird perched upright in a mesquite is the one to check for red eyes.
ID Features
- Slim and long-tailed, about 7 to 8 inches long, with a spiky crest and red eyes.
- Males are glossy black, with white wing patches that show mainly in flight.
- Females are plain gray with paler wing patches.
- Perches with an upright posture.
- Closely tied to desert mistletoe, whose berries it eats.
Signals
- callAn up-slurred, whistled "hoooeet" and a low "quirk". The short warbled song is rarely heard. Listen (xeno-canto XC777070)
More recordings: xeno-canto · Macaulay Library
Where and When
- Clark County, NV
- Year-round residentDesert scrub and mesquite with desert mistletoe, and desert oases. It moves around as berries ripen.Source: Clark County Wetlands Park bird list (Clark County Parks and Recreation, rev. March 2019): resident, common, nests here. Desert National Wildlife Refuge bird list (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, May 2018): common in spring, fall, and winter, uncommon in summer. Status from two site lists, not survey data. For week-by-week detail, see eBird's Clark County bar chart.