SILKY FLYCATCHERS: PHAINOPEPLA 
595 
plant down. Eggs: 2 or 3, grayish or greenish white, thickly spotted with brown, 
blackish, or faint lilac. 
Food. —Mainly berries, notably those of the mistletoe, juniper, and elder, 
but also many insects, principally ants. 
General Habits. —The Phainopepla, suggesting a miniature 
Magpie by reason of his black body, white wing patches, and level 
flight, is a veiy different bird; of musical voice, dignified quiet demeanor, 
and peculiar charm. About the nest the pair have a variety of notes, 
one, suggesting a young Robin, given by both with a dash of the tail. 
Those of the male vary from a call suggesting a Meadowlark, a scold 
and an alarm note— ca-rack or ca-rac-ack —to a bright vivacious song, 
whose jumbled notes, flute-like tones, and musical outbursts make it 
altogether delightful. 
For some unexplained reason the male often assumes the duties 
of the female, building the nest and brooding the eggs, while she flies 
around with her sisters awaiting the time to care for the young. 
In the Huachuca Mountains of Arizona, in July, after the breeding 
season, Mr. Swarth found that “a movement began from the lower 
valleys up into the mountains, and during August the Phainopeplas were 
most numerous throughout the oak region, up to about 5,000 feet. At 
this time they were in loose 
straggling flocks of from six 
to a dozen birds, young and 
old together, and were 
generally seen sitting in the 
tree tops and feeding for the 
most part, as flycatchers” 
(1904, p. 48). 
Additional Literature.— 
Bailey, F. M., Auk, XIII, 
38-43, 1896.— Myers, H. W., 
Condor, IX, 101-103, 1907; X, 
72-75, 1908; XI, 22-23, 1909.— 
Torrey, Bradford, Nature’s 
Invitation, 276-280, 1904. 
SHRIKES: Family Laniidae 
Subfamily Laniinae 
The Shrikes have much 
rounded wings and tail, the 
wing with ten primaries; 
the nostrils with dense 
tufts of bristly feathers, 
tarsus scaled in front and 
From Biological Survey (Fuertes) 
Fig. 105. Shrike (Lanins ludovicianus ludovici- 
onus) 
Impaled grasshoppers put in cold storage for 
time of need 
