Phainopepla nitens
With inky, jet-black plumage and crimson eyes, the male Phainopepla shines in the desert scrub of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. Often described as a “black cardinal with a red eye,” the Phainopepla is actually unrelated to the Northern Cardinal. Instead, it belongs to the Silky-flycatcher family, a small group of lustrous-plumaged, mainly fruit-eating birds found only in the southwestern United States and Central America. The Cedar Waxwing is a close relative and was only recently split into its own family, the Bombycillidae.
But unlike its relatives, the Phainopepla makes mistletoe berries a staple of its diet, relying on a specialized digestive tract to eat as many as 1,100 berries in a day — an adaptation that allows the Phainopepla to exploit an abundant but low-nutrient resource. The Phainopepla is unique among North American songbirds. It breeds during two different seasons — in completely different habitats — and shows contrasting behaviors in each place. Phainopeplas are even able to time their nesting to coincide with the ripening of their preferred foods.
Birds around the world are declining, and many of them, like Hawaiian honeycreepers, are facing urgent, acute threats. But all birds, from the rarest species to familiar backyard birds, are made more vulnerable by the cumulative impacts of threats like habitat loss and invasive species.
Like the Pyrrhuloxia and Vermilion Flycatcher, the Phainopepla is threatened by loss of riparian habitat throughout the American Southwest. Many other bird species of conservation concern occur in this habitat, including the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Costa’s Hummingbird, Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, and Least Bell’s Vireo. Habitat throughout the Southwest has been converted for agricultural use.
Birds need our help to overcome the threats they face. At ABC, we’re inspired by the wonder of birds and driven by our responsibility to find solutions to meet their greatest challenges. With science as our foundation, and with inclusion and partnership at the heart of all we do, we take bold action for birds across the Americas.
ABC is working to preserve this southwestern habitat on several fronts. We continue our advocacy for the San Pedro River, one of the last major undammed rivers in the American Southwest that runs through the Chihuahuan Desert and the Sonoran Desert in southeastern Arizona. Our BirdScapes program also protects important southwestern riparian habitats through the Rio Grande Joint Venture, which works in a variety of priority bird habitats and working lands for a suite of migratory and resident birds.
The handsome male Phainopepla is clad in sleek black plumage that inspired its name, a composite of the Greek words phainos (shining) and peplos (robe). The male also has striking white wing patches that are visible as he flies. Female and juvenile Phainopeplas are a more subtle ash-gray, with white edging on their wing feathers instead of the male’s bold white patches. Both sexes have bright red eyes, small, short bills, and ragged-looking crests.
The Phainopepla is often heard calling in a rising, slurred “wurp.” Its short, warbled song incorporates bits of other bird songs and sounds, from the harsh shriek of a Red-tailed Hawk to the wing-whirr of a Mourning Dove taking flight.
Credit: Ed Pandolfino, XC446451. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/446451.
Credit: Michael Morrison, XC579151. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/579151.
The Phainopepla generally is found in desert riparian scrub, high-elevation woodlands, and canyons.
Specific Area
Northern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, southwest Utah, and the Mexican plateau to northern Oaxaca, Mexico
Range Detail
During the fall, winter, and early spring, the Phainopepla is found in the dry Sonoran and Mojave Deserts in riparian areas and washes, particularly around trees and shrubs parasitized by desert mistletoe. Once the desert heats up in late spring and summer, this species moves to higher-elevation foothills and woodlands.
Did you know?
Phainopeplas have complex migratory behaviors that aren’t fully understood. During late winter and early spring, the Phainopepla can be found in the arid Sonoran Desert of Arizona and California, where pairs defend nesting habitat containing prime patches of native mistletoe, their favorite food. As summer approaches and the desert becomes intolerably hot, Phainopeplas move to cooler, high-elevation oak woodlands and canyons, where another breeding season begins. The Phainopeplas here exhibit more sociable behavior, nesting in loose colonies and feeding peaceably at fruiting trees in small flocks.
Scientists are still unsure if the same individuals breed in both habitats each year, and if this same breeding strategy is used throughout the species’ Mexican range. More study is needed to explain this unusual nesting strategy.
Much about the Phainopepla is unusual, from its appearance down to its diet and courtship. They can be conspicuous, spending much of their time perched high atop trees and shrubs and calling loudly. They are known to nest in loose colonies in seasons when food is abundant, sometimes even nesting in the same tree, and once the nesting season ends, they gather in small flocks.
While the Phainopepla feeds on a variety of berries, fruits, and small insects, it has a symbiotic association with the desert mistletoe, its chief food during the winter months. This bird’s digestive system is modified to quickly and efficiently process large quantities of this low-nutrient food. As a Phainopepla fills its crop with mistletoe berries, its tiny gizzard processes the berries one by one, shucking off the indigestible skin and squeezing the nutritious pulp and seed into the bird’s digestive system. The seeds pass through the Phainopepla quickly and are excreted in a sticky mass directly onto tree branches in as few as 10 minutes after being eaten. In this way, the Phainopepla spreads the mistletoe’s seeds among host trees, where they sprout and grow new plants.
Phainopeplas are likely monogamous. Male Phainopeplas are involved in nesting as part of their courtship, selecting the nest site, and sometimes even beginning to build multiple nests before attracting a mate. The male engages in courtship displays while nest building, descending over the nest while dipping his tail and flashing his white wing patches. A female will inspect several nest sites, with the male supplying her with berries or insects while she considers her options. Once she’s selected a suitable site, she will typically complete the nest by adding the lining.
In the Sonoran Desert, Phainopeplas begin to nest in late winter, and pairs nest again in late April and May in a second, higher-elevation habitat. The nest, sometimes started by the male, is a compact cup of plant fibers and stems, twigs, and spider silk, lined with soft hair and down placed by the female. Nests are sited on a horizontal branch, tree fork, or even concealed within a clump of mistletoe.
Both parents take turns incubating a clutch of two to four eggs over the course of 14 days. They each continue to brood and feed the hatchlings, which fledge after approximately three weeks. Fledgling Phainopeplas remain with their parents in a family group for a short time after leaving the nest.
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