STATUS: Common.
HABITAT: Inhabits deciduous thickets, woodland edges, brambles, undergrowth, hedgerows, and the dense understory of bottomland woodlands, generally favoring thickets near water. May inhabit highlands in the South.
SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Low shrubby vegetation.
NEST: Builds a cone-shaped cup nest that is suspended from forked twigs of a low shrub or tree, usually well concealed, 1 to 8 feet above the ground.
FOOD: Gleans its food, primarily insects, from branches and leaves. Eats mostly animal matter (90 percent of diet), but eats some berries and small fruits in winter.
REFERENCES: Chapin 1925, Forbush and May 1955, Johnsgard 1979, Nolan and Wooldridge 1962, Sykes in Farrand 1983c.