Listen to the rustle of desert willow, watch the bluish black
phainopepla birds flit between Western sycamores, and look for the spectacular wildflowers--California desert bluebells, forget-me-nots, and heliotrope--just starting to bloom this month.
Saguaro National Park boasts Many birds, including Gila woodpecker, gilded flicker, cactus wren,
phainopepla, and elf and screech owls.
Ecology and energetics of contrasting social systems in
Phainopepla nitens (Aves: Ptilogonatidae).
1951, Witmer 1996b, Cipollini and Levey 1997a); (3) a close relative of waxwings,
Phainopepla nitens, has been reported to consume Solanum fruits (Martin et al.
Although our captures are a good representation of avian occurrence in arroyos compared to uplands, some species, such as those that perch in elevated positions (e.g., kingbirds, phoebes,
phainopeplas Phainopepla nitens) or those that forage in the upper foliage (e.g., orioles, some warblers), may not have been sampled effectively by the sizes of nets we used.
He depicts each creature, from a mistletoe plant to the
phainopepla bird, as a fiercely motivated individual, each one an "advertisement for adaptation." Contestants in this fierce competition to survive must be extraordinarily selfish.