STATUS: Common.
HABITAT: During summer, inhabits open coniferous forests, muskegs, and less frequently, mixed coniferous-deciduous woodlands. Wanders in large flocks in winter and may be abundant wherever food is available.
NEST: Constructs nest of twigs, grasses, and lichens, usually on a horizontal branch of an isolated spruce, tamarack, or pine in open muskeg, 4 to 50 feet above the ground.
FOOD: In summer, mostly eats insects, catching many of them by hawking from high perches. In fall and winter, eats mostly fruits, with fruits of mountain-ash and berries of cedar and juniper the most important winter foods. In spring, also eats sap from maple trees.
REFERENCES: Bent 1950, Eckert in Farrand 1983c, Forbush and May 1955, Terres 1980.