Pied flycatcher

Pied flycatcher
	Pied flycatcher ( Phainopepla nitens )
Systematics
Order :	Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination :	Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily :	Bombycilloidea
Family :	Seidenschnäpper (Ptiliogonatidae)
Genre :	Phainopepla
Type :	Pied flycatcher
Scientific name of the genus
	Phainopepla
	SF Baird , 1858
Scientific name of the species
	Phainopepla nitens
	( Swainson , 1838)

The phainopepla ( Phainopepla nitens ) is an American songbird from the family of Seidenschnäpper (Ptiliogonatidae). The species is the only member of the genus Phainopepla .

features

The 18–20 cm long black flycatcher has a conspicuously pointed hood and a long tail. The male is glossy blue-black; a white wing spot is only visible in flight. The plumage of the female is gray with pale wing spots. Both sexes have red eyes, which are more noticeable in the female.

Occurrence

The bird lives in desert areas, in bush and woodlands in Mexico, and in the southwestern United States.

behavior

The main food of the pied flycatcher is the berry of desert mistletoe , a sandalwood plant . The berries of elder and juniper and insects that are caught in flight are also part of the diet. The bird lives in small, nomadic flocks. Hundreds of them are found in berry-rich areas.

Reproduction

In the first days of spring, the birds build a well-hidden, bowl-shaped nest in a bush or tree from plant fibers that are reinforced with twigs. The two to three eggs are incubated by both parents for about two weeks. At twenty days the young birds are fully fledged. If the temperatures rise, the adult birds move to more humid areas and breed a second time.

literature

Colin Harrison & Alan Greensmith: Birds. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London 1993,2000, ISBN 3-8310-0785-3
Bryan Richard: Birds. Parragon, Bath, ISBN 1-4054-5506-3

Individual evidence

↑ Phainopepla in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

Web links

Commons : Pied Flycatcher ( Phainopepla nitens ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Phainopepla nitens in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed January 31 of 2009.
Videos, photos and sound recordings on Phainopepla nitens in the Internet Bird Collection

[ITIS-1] Phainopepla in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)