
Phainopepla In Sabino Canyon — Photo-Artistry by kenne
This beautiful bird
Looks like a black cardinal
You should guess again.
— kenne

Phainopepla In Sabino Canyon — Photo-Artistry by kenne
— kenne

Phainopepla — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Bird perched on a limb
A shadow against the sky
Art in black and white.
— kenne

Phainopepla (Luke) — Art by kenne
— Jonathan Franzen

Luke, A White Crested Phainopepla — Image by kenne
This is the time of year some SCVN members state watching for the return of “Luke” to Sabino Canyon. Phainopeplas generally spend
their summers at the higher elevations of the Santa Cantilina Mountains, returning to the canyon to feed off the desert mistletoe berries
in the canyon.
What makes Luke unique is his white crest. For over eleven years, Luke can be spotted in the same general area in the canyon. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, we don’t know if Luke returned last year since many of us were not doing our usual nature walks in Sabino Canyon.
Phainopeplas usually perch high on canyon mesquite trees. They have digestive tracts specialized for eating mistletoe fruit.
These berries are low in nutrients, so the birds have to consume lots of them. The berries spend only about 12 minutes in a
Phainopepla’s intestine, and the birds may eat 1,100 berries in a day.
A singular bird of the Southwest, they are a brilliant sight in flight. Males are silky black and slender, with an elegant crest and bold white
wing patches that appear when the bird takes wing. Phainopeplas nearest common ancestors are the waxwings, which also have a glossy,
silky look to their plumage.

You Look One Way, I’ll Look The Other (Northern Mockingbird & Phainopepla) — Image by kenne
“All of us–bright atheists and committed religionists–need to wake now and hear the earth call . . . .
We need to give and receive as love shows us how, join with each pilgrim who quests for the true,
give heed to the voices of the suffering, awaken our consciences with justice as our guide,
and work toward a planet transformed by our care.”
— Scotty McLennan

Phainopepla In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
— kenne
“Bird In The Tree” (Phainopepla, Sabino Canyon) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
— Malcolm Gladwell
Bird Silhouette #3 (Phainopepla) — Image by kenne
— kenne

Phainopepla Grunge Art by kenne
(Click On Any of the Tiled Images for A Larger View in A Slideshow Format.)
Sabino Canyon Images, March 14, 2018, by kenne
“Luke” (Sabino Canyon, March 8, 2018) — Image by kenne
Phainopepla In Sabino Canyon (January 1, 2018) — Image by kenne
These birds like high perches so as to be seen and check out their territory.
Or, is it they just like being seen. You take one position and I will take the other.
— kenne
Mockingbird and Phainopepla in Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
— Bhagavad Gita
Phainopepla
Western Bluebird — Images by kenne
— Robert Frost