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Phainopepla Looks for Insects, Loves Berries

Photo of a black Phainopepla perched on a dead catclaw branch with a few mistletoe berries nearby
Phainopepla Poses with Mistletoe Berries

On or near the slopes between the desert and the western mountains, one of the nicest sounds you can expect to hear is the cheery greeting of the Phainopepla.

A member of the Silky Flycatcher (Pitilogonatidae) family, the Phainopepla looks like a flycatcher, perching at the top end of a naked branch and menacingly eyeing the surrounding field for insects.

But the other thing about the Phainopepla's desert environment of choice is that mistletoe grows on the catclaw and mesquite found here, and mistletoe berries are also a favorite Phainopepla food. In fact, the mistletoe parasite is spread as the Phainopepla eats the berries which contain the seeds and deposits them on otherwise healthy catclaw or mesquite plants.