Female Phainopepla
Male Phainopepla — Images by kenne
The Phainopepla is a common visitor to Sabino Canyon in the winter after spending summers on Mt. Lemmon. During a morning walk in the canyon, you can see them high on a tree branch chirping in the sunlight.
kenne
Female Phainopepla — Image by kenne
— kenne
Phainopepla Grunge Art by kenne
“The Phainopepla is the Johnny Appleseed of the mistletoe plant. As it feeds, its droppings help to spread the mistletoe seed to other host trees. It is the northern most bird of a group of tropical birds known as Silky Flycatchers. The Phainopepla has shiny looking feathers which gives it its name, which means “Shining Robe”. These birds are closely related to the Waxwings.” Source: Birding Information
A Male Phainopepla — Images by kenne
A black cardinal,
At first glance; the desert prince,
Phainopepla.
kenne
The Phainopepla is a common bird in the Sabino Canyon Winter.
Female Phainopepla — Image by kenne
Phainopepla
Perched high on the mesquite
Sky territory.
kenne
Female Phainopepla High In A Mesquite Tree — Image by kenne
The phainopepla’s main food while wintering in the Tucson basin are desert mistletoe berries.
When eaten, the hard seeds are then passed through while the phainopepla is perched on their favorite tree branch,
often in a mesquite tree.
Female Plainopela In A Tree with Desert Mistletoe — Image by kenne
The seeds are left on the branch where they can germinate and set up a root system within the host plant.
kenne
Male Phainopepla — Image by kenne
The phainopepla is a common southern Arizona bird, spending its summers on Mount Lemmon, moving south to the Sabino Canyon for the winter. And even though I have many photos of this very attractive bird, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to photograph this male phainopepla during this morning’s Ned Harris & Friends nature-walk in the canyon.
kenne
Female Phainopepla — Image by kenne
Earlier this month I posted “Can You Pronounce, Phainopepla?” The image in the posting was a male phainopepla — a beautiful bird. But really, this beautiful female has something to say about beauty.
This one is for the “ladies”!
kenne
Phainopepla (fain – oh – PEP – lug) — Image by kenne
When I started the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist program in September, one of my challenges was learning to pronounce, Phainopela.
Image by Lip Kee via Flickr
I didn’t have trouble recognizing this beautiful bird, who wouldn’t with his majestic black robe. His name is perfectly suited for its unique dark plumage, as the name phainopepla originated from the Greek phain peplos or “shining robe.” In bright sunlight, these birds do shine, and the male’s glossy plumage is unmistakable, as shown in the above image. The Phainopela has white wing-tips that can be seen in flight.
In the summer, the local Phainopeplas migrate up the canyon to Mt. Lemmon, where it’s cooler with a lot in insects, returning to the lower canyon in the winter when insects are scarce to feed on mistletoe berries. As “A Naturalist’s Guide To Sabino Canyon” point out, “Sticky mistletoe seeds pass through digestive system sticking to branches where they perch, spreading mistletoe from tree to tree.” Welcome back, “black dude!”
kenne
