STATUS: Fairly common.
HABITAT: Inhabits riparian mountain canyons, from 5,000 to 7,500 feet in elevation, where sycamore, oak, walnut, Arizona cypress, and pine are common.
SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Natural cavities in trees or abandoned northern flicker holes.
NEST: Usually builds nest in a natural cavity, typically a knothole where a large branch has broken off and a cavity has rotted out, 20 to 50 feet above the ground in living sycamores. Occasionally nests in an old flicker hole or a nest box placed high in a tree. Constructs nest on top of a loose platform built inside the cavity.
FOOD: Eats a variety of insects and spiders; also a few small fruits and berries.
REFERENCES: Bent 1942, Cottam and Knappen 1939, Ligon 1971a, Phillips et al. 1964.