THE PHAINOPEPLA 



{(Phainopepla nitens) 



WHAT memories of lovely desert spring' days 

 the name of this bird awakens! One can hardly 

 recall a walk then taken when one or more of 

 these stately bird sentinels were not seen grac- 

 ing the topmost twigs of some mesquite tree. 

 The generic Greek name phainopepla, which 

 means " shining coat/' was certainly well chosen 

 for this black-feathered aristocrat. To give 

 him an air of dignity beyond that which his 

 elegant form of body furnished him, Nature 

 adorned his head with a magnificent crest and 

 provided that the eye should be a flaming red. 

 On each wing of the male bird there is a clear 

 white wing patch, and when he flies upward the 

 effect of the contrast of color is most wonderful. 

 All these characters give this bird an individual- 

 ity which is very marked and he becomes to us 

 one of the easiest of birds to identify. The 

 female phainopepla, like the female Brewer 

 blackbird, lacks somewhat the beauty of her 



