The Phainopepla
Birding in Southern Arizona

This is a beautiful and striking bird showing, off a crest and a long, shimmering tail. It is a member of the flycatcher family with the male being glossy black and the female being plain grey. They both have a white white patch that is only visible when they are in flight--the females patch is more of a lighter grey than a white. They have gleaming red eyes which are more apparent in the female.

Phainopeplas like hot weather but range from central California and southern Utah to the interior of Mexico. We are lucky in the Southern Arizona region as they breed here and are not as hard to spot as in other areas.

This is a very opportunistic bird, feeding on berries, small insects, fruits and even vegetables. It has a unique digestive system, different than that of any other bird, as far as we know now. They have a specialized mechanism in their gizzard that pulls berry skins off the fruit and packs the skins separately so that the skins make their way into the intestines for more efficient digestion.

They nest in spring with eggs that can be grey, pink or speckled. Both parents take turns sitting on the eggs for about fifteen days and both share the parenting duties, as well.

It is believed that Phainopeplas can imitate the calls of twelve other birds, including the Red-tailed Hawk and the Northern Flicker--making this not only a beautiful bird to see, but an interesting one to watch.